Blurred Destinies
by jedimasterobi-wankenobi
Summary: She had been taken under Obi-Wan Kenobi's wing. Her dream had come true. But slowly, amidst the relentless bioweapons, perilous Sith planets, cruel enemies and endless battles, the dream turns into a living nightmare.
1. Prologue: Fate

_Her dream had come true. Jaina had always dreamed of traveling the galaxy, fighting evil alongside a great Jedi Master. Her lightsaber skills were exceptional, her piloting outstanding, and quiet brilliance rested behind her introverted nature. But she slowly begins to realize that being the best of the best inside classrooms means nothing outside the Jedi Temple, where every destination is an intense battlefield. _

_Now the apprentice of the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jaina finds herself combating massive warships, struggling on a desolate Sith planet, going behind enemy lines, and saving worlds by leading her troops to success, learning from her own failures. From the front lines to the skies, Master and Padawan fight for their Order, their Republic and their very lives. Jaina's dream had come true. Along with it, her worst nightmares._

* * *

Prologue – Fate

_Then. Three days after the Battle of Geonosis._

Obi-Wan Kenobi walked briskly towards the Council Chamber, his lone boots echoing on the marble floor. The sun hadn't risen yet, and the Coruscant traffic wasn't as congested as he knew it would be later on. A lot had changed in the last few days. After being treated by the Temple's top Healers, Anakin Skywalker had immediately been elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight for his efforts during the Battle of Geonosis.

He had a new depth to him, a new level of maturity that was both a boon and a bane in his personality. With his prosthetic hand never replacing his flesh-and-blood arm, mother lying dead at the hands of the Tusken Raiders and the Clone Wars beginning, Anakin had a new ferocity in his ice blue eyes that Obi-Wan knew he would see everyday for the rest of his life.

He was no longer the ten year-old Padawan that would bend rules for the sake of adrenaline rushes. Anakin Skywalker was a man now, a Jedi Knight proven capable of following orders and protecting the lives of others.

And Obi-Wan was his former master, proud of what he had already become, with a small amount of anxiety for what he would be in the future.

The double doors to the Chamber opened, and Obi-Wan was surprised to see only Yoda present.

"Master Yoda," he greeted with a respectful bow. "You wanted to see me?"

The venerable master nodded. "A matter there is, that I wish to discuss with you." Yoda sat down in his Council Chair, his old, wise eyes sweeping Obi-Wan over. "Attend Exhibition Day, you did, Obi-Wan. See anyone of interest, did you?"

"If you're asking me whether or not I'm taking another Padawan right after Anakin's been knighted, I'm afraid the answer is no, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said, crossing his arms. "He was a handful enough already, and I could use the break."

"A privilege, teaching is, Master Kenobi." Yoda said sharply, pointing his gimer stick at him. "Your responsibility it is, to help train the next generation."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I know that, Master Yoda, but I just think it's too soon. The initiates all showed an immense amount of skill and talent yesterday, and I know they will all make excellent Jedi but I still don't think-"

"Left an impression on you, did any initiate, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Well, there was this one initiate who I've met before, and she's proven to me that she's intelligent, resourceful and extremely talented with a blade. I might've considered taking her as my second Padawan once or twice, but it's not a decision I've made yet. _Nor_ is it one I am planning to make in the near future."

The doors slid open again, and Yoda smiled slightly. A petite human girl around thirteen years-old with hazel eyes, soft features and dark brown hair that fell neatly to her shoulders walked in. She looked confused and slightly sleepy, the early morning not giving her the energy Obi-Wan remembered her having the days before.

"Master Yoda, Master Kenobi," Jaina Knightrunner greeted in a quiet voice, inclining her head respectfully. She tucked her hair behind her ears and stood with her hands clasped behind her back.

Obi-Wan sighed but Yoda only looked at him. "This is the initiate, is it not, Master Kenobi?"

Jaina frowned ever so slightly in confusion. The sun began to rise, casting an orange glow on her face.

Obi-Wan looked at her again and smiled. "Yes, she is the one. And I've considered it, Master Yoda, but I'm still not quite sure-"

"Know the right thing, you do, Obi-Wan," the diminutive master said, making his way towards the Council Chamber's exit. Jaina bowed again in farewell. "May the Force be with you both."

He exited, and the door slid shut. Obi-Wan sighed again. Jaina was eyeing the doors in confusion, still unsure as to why she was called at this early hour only to watch the Grand Master leave.

She had a petite frame, but had incredible speed and agility for velocities. From what he saw during the very recent Exhibition day, she utilized Soresu. Her movements were fluid and smooth, without hesitation. Only concentration and determination were evident in her eyes.

Dark brown hair framed her deceptively delicate face, that hid a great amount of intelligence, resourcefulness and courage. She had top grades in her clan, was very active in her classes and proved her talent.

For her age, she was perceptive, the other masters knew it too. She had her views and questions of the Force, and knew precisely how to express them to her teachers and her comrades, earning her some respect. She had a conversation with him only yesterday, after the last event of Exhibition Day had been completed. It was the day when initiates got to show their abilities, and be chosen by a master.

She had known then what she wanted to do with her life, and had spoken to him about taking her under his wing. Obi-Wan had smiled then, after she walked away. He smiled again now.

She had potential, that much was certain. She didn't seem as outspoken as Anakin, she was more reserved, yet he knew that that would change once he got to know her. At least he now knew that he wanted to get to know her.

Jaina was silently tapping her fingers against her thigh, biting on her lower lip with a mixture of slight impatience, confusion and anxiety. She looked at him. "Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, earning a wide-eyed look. He didn't need to say anything, she would know the reasons for his decision. "Jaina, I would be honored to have you as an apprentice."

Jaina's eyebrows raised slightly, the only betrayal of her shock. She bit her lip again and smiled with a mixture of pride and exhilaration. "I would be honored to have you as a Master. I accept, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi."


	2. Master and Padawan

Chapter 1 - Master and Padawan

_Now. Four months after the Battle of Geonosis._

"Incoming! Battle positions!" Fourteen year-old Jedi Padawan Jaina Knightrunner tightened her sweaty grip on her lightsaber hilt. The intricate craftsmanship she performed on Ilum several months ago made the hilt fit her hand perfectly, like it really belonged there.

Her dirty, waist-length, dark hair was tied back tightly, bangs pinned away from her face. The tunic she wore, now stained with mud, singed by blasterfire and ripped slightly by falling debris clung to her body tightly because of the sweat, and made moving even more exhausting.

Jaina somersaulted forward and left the chunk of wall that had served as her cover behind. It was difficult enough to see, with that planet's climate creating a thick fog that gave everyone an additional disadvantage. Blasterfire was everywhere, going in every direction. Stray shots would ricochet off nearby buildings, but some would hit their mark and lessen the Republic's clones.

The street was wide and it led to a plaza at the center of the capital city. Battledroids were advancing quickly but they had nowhere to run.

Jaina sliced a droid in half, blowing a loose strand of hair off her face. She twirled her icy blue lightsaber into a reverse grip and swung a cross in the air, blocking two shots that would have killed her and burning through a superbattle droid only a few feet away. She expertly moved three fingers, flipping the lightsaber's handgrip back into it's original position. Her mouth lifted in a half-smile and she sent a piece of rubble flying towards a group of droids.

The blasterfire quieted down and eventually ceased, Jaina still standing protectively in the front line with the remaining squad of clones behind her. Bodies and heaps of metal were scattered everywhere. Jaina took in a deep breath, pushing the rush of emotions deep down where they wouldn't bother her. The throbbing pang in her throat lessened enough for her to concentrate.

"Boulevard is secure." The Commander informed her, lowering his blaster.

Jaina narrowed her eyes. A loud, mechanical, menacing sound echoed from behind the fog. It was so familiar, it made the strands of hair at the back of her neck stand. She raised her lightsaber defensively and gestured for the clones to reload their weapons. "Not yet!"

Four destroyer droids appeared from behind the fog. Their shields cast an eerie, purple glow on the surroundings. For a split-second, everything was deathly silent. Immediately after, both the clones and the droidekas started firing relentlessly.

Jaina jumped forward and over the droids. She landed without a sound behind them and one started firing at her while the other three continued their barrage on the remaining clones. She blocked the first shots before beginning to run forward. The droid put down it's shields and started rolling after her. She flipped backwards and sliced it vertically while she landed, a triumphant smile on her face.

Another destroyer droid turned around, guns blazing. Jaina jumped forward, simultaneously Force-pulling the droid towards her. After losing it's balance momentarily, it's shields faltered and Jaina stabbed at the generator.

The explosion knocked her backwards, only meters away from the clone squad. She landed awkwardly with one arm extended to maintain her balance. The two remaining destroyer droids continued to shoot endlessly.

"Has anyone seen General Kenobi?" Jaina yelled over the blasterfire, her lightsaber a swift blue blur deflecting the barrage.

She caught movement with her peripheral vision and whirled around to see a hooded figure jumping off a nearby balcony towards the droidekas. He Force-pushed a piece of rubble at both their sets of legs, sending both droids to the ground.

The cloaked figure unsheathed an icy blue lightsaber similar to Jaina's and cut both droids down in a seemingly effortless motion. He stood up straight and his hood fell back.

Jaina grinned. "Your timing was impeccable, Master. As usual."

Obi-Wan Kenobi turned around and faced his Padawan, a half-smile on his bearded face. "Looks like you've made quite the mess."

Jaina shrugged and deactivated her lightsaber. Her master walked towards them, stopping for a moment to pat her shoulder. He was in a similarly dirty tunic, his hair an unruly brunette mess. His keen blue-green eyes swept the street before his gaze landed on Commander Cody. "We've cleared the other streets and alleyways in this district. What's the status here?"

"The Boulevard has been cleared, General Kenobi."

Cody took out a holoprojector and Jaina took a few steps closer to get a better view. She barely reached her Master's shoulders in height, and had to tiptoe slightly to gaze at the holographic map.

"Only about a dozen tanks remain," Cody said. "Our ARC troopers are close to capturing the Sep General, we have gunships and cannons bearing on the tanks."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Any news of the fleet?"

"Admiral Yularen contacted us a few hours ago, Master," Jaina said. "The blockade was weakening then and some enemy frigates and transports have already retreated out of the system. I wouldn't be surprised if the Seppies are gone by now."

Obi-Wan smiled genuinely. "Well, men, looks like the Separatists won't conquer this planet or its neighboring hyperspace lane after all."

Cheers and yells began echoing loudly, coming from everywhere. Jaina couldn't help but beam, even as she and Obi-Wan walked away from the squad. Another success.

They passed platoons of clones being loaded into their assault ships, engineers attempting to fix ruined technology, medics attending to the wounded in a bunker nearby.

Jaina eyed all this, maintaining her respectful half-step behind Obi-Wan. "What's going to happen now, Master?"

"I haven't received word from the Council yet, so it looks like we're going back to the Temple for now."

Jaina nodded, a little disappointed. The past months she'd spent with Obi-Wan had been filled with countless missions, each more challenging than the last. Every experience allowed her to learn something new about her master, and allowed him to learn more about her. In the middle of the chaos and the destruction began a friendship Jaina deeply cherished.

The battles and missions tested her abilities greatly, but they allowed her to reach her limits and surpass them. As her master told her before, _The mission teaches what I cannot_.

They reached the Jedi cruiser shortly, Jaina snapping out of her reverie. The landing ramp sealed shut as soon as they were in. She followed Obi-Wan to the conference room as the ship began to lift off the ground.

A large, circular table and a few chairs were the only contents of the hologram conference room. Jaina shut the door as Obi-Wan began hitting a few keys at the side of the table. Life-size holograms of Admiral Yularen, the head of the fleet her Master commanded with Master Skywalker, and Masters Yoda and Windu, members of the elite Jedi Council, appeared before them, atop the table.

Both Jaina and Obi-Wan bowed, Jaina a step behind him but still within the holoprojector's range.

"Masters, General Kenobi," Admiral Yularen greeted, inclining his head. "The Separatist armada went into full retreat an hour ago. Only friendlies remain in the system now."

"Nicely done, Admiral," Obi-Wan remarked.

"Yes, this victory not only prevented the loss of yet another hyperspace lane, but it will also provide the morale boost that Republic citizens desperately need," Master Windu said.

Jaina let out a long exhale of relief. The war was being fought on too many fronts already, and the amount of losses the Republic continued to sustain were worsening the battered state of the people's morale.

"We've driven the droids to the outskirts of the city," Obi-Wan reported. "Only a few remain and the cannons will take care of that. The planet is now back in the control of its government, the anarchy has ceased."

The reports continued, Jaina occasionally adding details to support what was already known. She was pleased yet slightly disappointed when Master Yoda ordered them to return to the Jedi Temple and await further orders. Surely there was something, somewhere, that had to be done.

The conference ended and Commander Cody walked in the room, informing them that they had landed inside the _Integrity_, her master's flagship, now en route to Coruscant.

Jaina walked into the _Integrity_'s bridge, feeling refreshed and energetic. Her hair, still wet after her long sanisteam, was framing her now-mudless face and she wore a clean, stainless tunic and leggings.

Obi-Wan stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out the huge viewport. He was clean this time too, and his hair was neatly combed back. _This _was the vision the citizens of the Republic saw on the HoloNet. A perfectly unscathed Jedi Master, that faced danger without fear, without hesitation. An invincible general that would lead the Republic to victory. _A hero_.

Jaina smiled. He was _her _hero too. An incredible teacher with limitless patience, an invaluable friend with a listening ear and great advice and a courageous, admirable role model she would always look up to. She couldn't ask for a better master.

She stood next to him, looking out the port at the mysteries of hyperspace. Glancing out the viewport and seeing nothing was incredibly rare these days. "Do you think this war will ever end, Master?" she asked quietly.

Obi-Wan let a few moments of silence pass before answering. "I can't say. But eventually one side will run out of resources."

"Not to mention man-power." Jaina tucked her hair behind her ears, sighing irritably. "It's not fair. Loss of men can only happen to us. The droids are no loss to the CIS, they're just pieces of scrap metal. They can just keep making them and making them."

"The droids lack several things that give us an advantage, Padawan," he mused. "They can hardly think for themselves, for one thing. Blindly following orders can lead to disaster every once in a while."

"Once in a while isn't really going to end this war."

"No, but this war isn't going to end if none of us keep on fighting," he said gently. "I know the past weeks, maybe months, have been exhausting and difficult, but you can't allow negative thoughts into your mind. They will do you no good, my young apprentice."

"I know, Master, and I keep myself as optimistic as possible in the battlefield at all times, remember?" Jaina said wryly. "I don't know, maybe I'm just having one of those 'I'm going to question my purpose in life, what are we fighting for, I'm going to die one of these days anyway' moments."

He looked at her, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "Your purpose in life is to help those around you, you're fighting for a Republic that's struggling to remain unstained from corruption and it's best to die knowing you've fulfilled your purpose in life, though I'd rather not have you thinking of death at all at this moment. Why the sudden uncertainty? Did I miss something when I left you in charge of the three squads, Padawan?"

"No, Master, I've just been over-thinking I guess, that's all," she said with a shrug. "I am a teenager. We tend to overanalyze things quite a lot."

"I think we've just been away from the Temple for too long," Obi-Wan said with a sigh, turning back towards the viewport. "We've hardly had any time to meditate, any time to rest, to recuperate. It's difficult, isn't it?"

"I won't lie, I miss my friends and I worry about them sometimes. But it makes me treasure the time I get to spend with them. And I'd like the chance to get a good night's sleep, eat something other than survival rations and use my lightsaber for something other than a thin line separating life from death."

He nodded. "No arguments there. Yet for some reason, disappointment crossed your face when Master Yoda ordered us to return to the Temple," he said, glancing at her again, eyebrow raised.

Jaina smiled sheepishly. "Well, I know my purpose in life is exactly what you mentioned earlier, I've always known it. Sometimes I just can't stand just watching everyone else make a difference while I do nothing knowing that I can do something. That's just as difficult for me as the missions are, Master."

"That's the same for everyone," Obi-Wan said. "It's unusual, but we tend to contradict ourselves by wanting to rest when we're fighting, but wanting to fight when we're resting."

"Yes, we're very strange that way," she said with a chuckle. "Another difference between us and the Sep droids..."

"I'd say it's an advantage for us, Padawan," he said with a smile.

"Me too." Jaina grinned back, and she turned to look outside the viewport. The elongated stars returned to normal, and a huge, distinguishable planet came into view. It was full of lights, with billions of people inhabiting it. Any traveller would know it anywhere.

Jaina stared at Coruscant, the Galactic Capital. She could practically see the congested traffic, could hear the curses yelled by frustrated drivers in different languages from all around the galaxy. She could imagine the majestic Jedi Temple right in front of her, the place she'd spent her whole life in.

Her pulse quickened, her eyes widened, and her mind was suddenly filled with numerous unforgettable memories of friends, of failures, of successes. Only one thought registered.

She was _home_.

**Fun Fact: Jaina's last name, Knightrunner, was created when I was 11 years-old for a series I was writing. I know it sounds kinda stupid and unoriginal now, I'm rather embarrassed with it actually, but it's of sentimental value and I don't think I have the heart to change it, after almost six years have passed. **

**It was created in a few seconds, because I was desperate for a last name for my main character (and I was 11). I can think of many names that would sound better now, but I've been writing her character for all these years now, I just don't have the heart to change it xD**


	3. Intervention

Chapter 2 - Intervention

_Then. Two days after the Battle of Geonosis_

Inside a tidy, white and lavender room, a screeching alarm began beeping relentlessly. The room contained a tall shelf full of holobooks on every subject, a desk, a closet and a bed that hardly resembled a bed underneath the pile of books and flimsiplasts.

A head jerked awake from under the mess. Short as she was, Jaina always felt a little lanky for her thirteen years of age. The thought intensified as she clumsily stumbled into her refresher.

She immediately regretted having snoozed the chrono over an hour ago. But she was exhausted! Because she overslept, Jaina took her shower, brushed her teeth and combed her hair all at the same time. Jaina walked out of the refresher, her wet hair dangling limply by her shoulders, and started shoving books, a datapad and other necessities into a backpack. She was muttering lightsaber forms, capital cities and historical figures under her breath to make sure she had everything memorized.

Jaina looked at herself in the mirror and inspected the fresh tunic and leggings she wore. She tied her dark hair tightly back, staring intensely at her reflection.

"You can do this," she said, a fierce determination burning in her eyes. "You have to do this. You studied all night, you practiced katas all night, you did your best. Now it's time for everyone to see it!"

She turned away from the mirror, Force-pulled her bag and lightsaber to her open palm and made her way to the door. "I have _got_ to stop talking to myself..."

* * *

The cafeteria was noisier than usual. Initiates were conversing in urgent, hushed whispers. This day always had everyone on edge. Jaina shook her head and sighed, picking up a tray, a bowl of cereal and a mug of steaming caf. Today was Exhibition Day, the day that all Initiates were anxious to avoid.

It was one day, and it allowed Jedi students to showcase their talents in balancing exercises, velocities, tests of endurance and skill and several others. Jedi Knights and Masters without Padawans stayed and watched, and the lucky initiates who showed talent and connection to the Force were taken on as apprentices. The rest...

Jaina shuddered. The Initiates not taken on by a Master were taken to either the AgriCorps or the MedCorps. They had to leave the Temple for an unwanted future. And the Order had just lost more than a hundred Knights and Masters on Geonosis. That meant more Initiates sent away. And she was already thirteen, the Masters would not keep her here for much longer without a proper teacher.

Jaina sat down on a nearby chair and set her tray down on the table. It was her worst fear right now, not being chosen by a master. Everyone around the galaxy knew all about the war that had erupted only a few days ago. She hated not being able to help out her fellow Jedi in the front lines, not being able to do _something_ while others died. All she wanted was a chance. She just had to use her talents for the good of the Republic.

Jaina wanted to make a difference, that was all she could ask for. She knew she'd hate herself for the rest of her life if she was sent away from the Temple, watching the war from the HoloNet or hearing rumors from cantinas. She was ready to risk her life for the Republic, to fight alongside the best and _win_.

Jaina absently stirred her cereal with a spoon, pulling out her datapad from the bag and beginning to read from it.

"Well, good morning, little miss anti-social," said a voice from behind.

Jaina turned around, a half-smile beginning to form. Two girls put their trays down on the table and sat across her. Callista Starr, the one who had spoken, was a petite girl, shorter than Jaina, and had lush, light-brown curls extending all the way down to her waist. Her unusually bright, platinum eyes glinted mischeivously.

Ximea Baudan, Jaina's other best friend, smacked Callista playfully on her shoulder. She was taller than Callista, almost the same height as Jaina, with short, wavy, flaming red hair, pale complexion and dark blue eyes. "Look who's talking! You're the one who hardly says five words to anyone other than us."

"No arguments there," Jaina said with a smirk, turning to look back at her datapad.

"Aw, come on," Callista pouted. "Are you really going to spend breakfast ignoring us for your piece of metal over there? Isn't breakfast for bonding and talking?"

Jaina didn't bother looking up. "Uh, no. At least not today."

Ximea groaned. "Ugh. Thanks for reminding me. I wanted to forget Exhibition Day at least just for breakfast, Jaina."

"Did you honestly think for a second that that was possible with _her_ sitting at the same table?" Callista raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I don't believe you did."

Jaina rolled her eyes and continued reading, taking a few spoonfuls of cereal every now and then. "I have the list of the masters searching for Padawans if anyone's interested."

"Oh, I want to see!" Ximea exclaimed, holding out her palm.

Jaina handed her the datapad and drank from the caf. "Hopefully this will all be over in twenty four hours."

"Morning, girls," Faithe Keayes greeted, sitting next to Jaina. "How're you all holding up?"

Jaina rested her chin on the table irritably. "I'm older than you. I'm three standard months older than you, and you already have a master. This is beyond unfair."

"Well, hello to you too," Faithe said, looking genuinely hurt. She had jet black hair that was curly at the ends and wide, brown eyes betraying a hint of anger. "What does age matter? And don't hold it against me, it's not _my_ fault! Besides this is only my second day as a Padawan, Jaina, you have no right to-"

Jaina sighed. "You're right. Sorry, Faithe. I hate everything about this day."

Faithe nodded. "No, I understand. I did too."

Jaina knew she didn't need to say anything else. She finished her cereal and checked her wrist chrono. One hour until the first event.

Siri Tachi, a tall, blonde Jedi Knight with an extremely athletic figure approached them slowly. She was one of Jaina's favorite teachers in her advanced lightsaber class, but most one-on-one sessions with Master Siri ended with Jaina on the floor, practically tasting the carpet. Only days before, she had picked Faithe, one of Jaina's oldest friends, as a Padawan.

Siri smiled at them all, putting both her hands on the table and leaning forward. "Well, you girls certainly look excited for today," She said wryly, smiling. "I know you're all nervous but just remember to not vomit on the sparring mat. Other than that, you should be fine."

"Thanks, Master Tachi, that's really reassuring," Jaina said, with equal sarcasm. "Just what we wanted to hear."

"You'll be fine, trust me," she said, winking. "Oh, and by the way, I might have some information concerning which masters have considered you three as Padawans, but I won't reveal that, I don't want to spoil the fun."

"Don't be cruel, Siri," Obi-Wan Kenobi remarked walking up to their table, looking at Siri with mock disapproval.

Jaina met her friends' gazes, struggling to remain calm. Of all ways to start the day...

"What's life without a few challenges?" she said with a shrug. "Good luck, you three. Faithe, we have that Council meeting in five minutes. Try to keep up," Siri said with a grin. In a split second, she was gone. Walking off to the nearest turbolift, several meters away.

Faithe sighed. "She's tough." she stood up and started walking off too. "I'll see you guys!"

Jaina, Callista and Ximea waved at Faithe, Jaina still feeling a nervous knot in her stomach. "Good morning, Master Kenobi," she managed to choke out.

He smiled at her. "Good morning, Jaina. I haven't seen you in the Sparring Chambers lately."

"I've...been in the library. And...the West Sparring Chambers." Jaina bit her lip, feeling her cheeks start to burn. Callista snickered. "I needed peace and quiet."

"I hope you've been practicing, I'm eager to watch you fight today," Master Kenobi said, smiling politely and inclining his head in farewell. "Best of luck, and may the Force be with you."

* * *

Jaina tapped a finger against her lap absently, watching a teenage Togruta perform katas in a sparring mat a few meters away. She was sitting on the bleachers in the West Chambers, unfortunately another initiate had arrived at her usual mat first.

Now, Jaina focused on preventing herself from pacing. Soon, the chambers would be full of spectators, masters searching for Padawans, initiates cheering friends on.

The Togruta stopped to wipe off sweat that glistened her crimson-skinned brow. This was Ahsoka Tano. Jaina knew from the schedule that Ahsoka was to be her opponent. So she spent the last half hour observing her style surreptitiously.

Ahsoka used a reverse hand-grip, a rare but not unusual style of fighting. Jaina continued to watch her, making a mental list of any weaknesses she could see.

Footwork's a bit stiff...that transition from block to parry wasn't that smooth...she's putting too much weight on her left foot...Jaina slapped a hand to her forehead. She was wasting her time contemplating on Ahsoka's weakness, she _should have_ been focusing on her own!

Jaina hopped off the bleachers, catching a small smirk on Ahsoka's face at the corner of her eye.

* * *

Jaina stepped out onto the sparring mat, her heart thumping wildly. In the front row of the bleachers, she spotted Masters Skywalker and Kenobi. A few rows higher sat Ximea and Faithe, smiling at her reassuringly. Jaina grinned back and took a few steps forward, turning her attention to the equally nervous Togruta in front of her. But as soon as she had stepped on to the mat, Ahsoka's face had gone stoic.

Jaina and Ahsoka ignited their training sabers, bowed and saluted. Immediately after, Jaina snapped her saber diagonally across her body, blocking the first, powerful strike that almost drove her a step back.

She had always utilized the Soresu form and strategy, immediately taking the defensive was her secret tactic to beating most of her opponents. Jaina could hear all her teacher's voices ringing in her mind.

_Do what you must, _rang Soara Antana's powerful voice,_ but in an unexpected way._

Jaina subconsciously nodded and feinted a slash towards Ahsoka's right thigh with her lightsaber gripped in her left hand. Ahsoka instinctively swung her blade to block it and Jaina kicked at the back of her left knee. The blow knocked her off-balance but before she stumbled, she struck swiftly, landing a stinging blow at the back of Jaina's forearm. Jaina grimaced, and gripped her forearm tightly on instinct.

"Looks like your spying paid off, huh?" Ahsoka hissed, low enough only for Jaina to hear, as she clutched her leg.

Jaina raised her saber defensively. "That it did."

Ahsoka swung at her again, this tiem aiming for her knees. Jaina jumped up and over the blade.

_First rule of lightsaber combat,_ Siri's amused voice said in her mind, _don't fall down._

Before Jaina landed back on the mat, Ahsoka swung her leg at her knees in an attempt to trip her. Jaina extended her arm and twisted her body, executing half a cartwheel and ending up hand-standing. Hardly wasting a split-second, Jaina kicked Ahsoka in the waist.

Ahsoka jumped back to lessen the blow but landed clumsily, catching her breath with a shocked expression on her face. Jaina bent her legs forward and pushed herself back to a standing position. She backflipped towards Ahsoka.

The dance continued.

Jaina took the offensive this time, slashing fluidly to drive Ahsoka back. Numerous minutes, burns, bruises and muttered curses later, the presiding master rung a loud chime inside the room and announced a draw. Ahsoka and Jaina both deactivated their lightsabers and bowed again, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

"Looks like nobody won for now," Ahsoka murmured, only for Jaina's ears.

"That'll change next time," Jaina whispered evenly.

"Don't make the mistake of thinking that you're the only one fighting for a master," Ahsoka retorted, raising her chin defiantly.

Jaina hardened her gaze. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that you want this more than I do," she said quietly, sparing a glance at Obi-Wan and Anakin for a moment. "You don't."

Jaina sat on a cold bench in one of the sublevels of the Jedi Temple, gently wrapping a bandage around her forearm. The burn wasn't that severe, the lightsabers hadn't been on full power, but she did not want to strain her arm during the obsatacle course and worsen the damage.

The sublevels were dark and extensive. All initiates were inside a small waiting room, preparing themselves. They all knew that this particular sublevel was full of obstacles but they had no idea what kinds they were or where they were even found.

Jaina inspected her arm, testing and flexing it. A lingering heat was the only discomfort that remained, for the bacta had removed the sting. She exhaled in relief and stood up, slinging her pack over her shoulders. This was a race but initiates would be competing in teams of three. Jaina, Ximea and Callista made up one team, and the other four teams participating were familiar faces, Ahsoka among them.

"How's your arm?" Ximea asked.

Jaina grinned. "I'll live."

Callista stood up too and eyed a screen in the front of the room. "It's almost time," she murmured. According to screen, only a few seconds remained until the event would begin.

"All right, we can do this," Jaina said in a low voice to Callista and Ximea. "We just need focus. Keep alert at all times, we can't let our concentration slip. Teamwork is the key, remember to think first about which of us can perform a task best, then step aside and let her do it. We're going to have to be a fast and efficient team if we want to win this."

Callista put a hand on Jaina's shoulder, her face in mock sympathy. "Pep talking really is not your thing. You should let one of us do it next time," she said dryly.

Jaina hit her on the arm, laughing. "I'll keep that in mind. Let's do this."

A bright light in the middle of the room blinked green and five doors for each team opened on opposite sides. All that was revealed was darkness.

Jaina stepped out first, unsheathing a glowrod that cast a green, eerie illumination on all her surroundings. There were overhead lights, but they were so dim that they could hardly be considered lights.

She inhaled sharply, catching swift movement with her peripheral vision. Jaina raised the glowrod higher and saw a round droidcam hovering nearby, no doubt recording their every move and broadcasting it to the masters. She took in a deep breath, trying to stop her heart from leaping out of her chest.

Jaina took another few steps forward with Ximea and Callista slightly behind and flanking her on both sides. She sprinted ahead, enhancing her speed with the Force. Callista and Ximea were still next to her, identical expressions of exhilaration and fear on their faces. Meters ahead, a huge black shadow came into view.

"_Wall!_" Jaina yelled.

Callista slowed down, Jaina and Ximea shot forward. They both linked their left and right hands in front of their bodies when they were less than a foot away from the wall. The two faced each otherand Callista greatly picked up her speed. She hopped in between them, planting both her feet on both Ximea and Jaina's palms. They flipped her up, and the combined momentum of her Force-jump and Jaina and Ximea's flip sent her shooting upwards.

"_Yahoooooo!_" she cried as she flew. Ximea grinned, but Jaina just rolled her eyes. Callista grabbed on to one of the handholds and started to climb up. Once she reached the top, she tossed over two harnesses before beginning to descend on the other side of the wall. Jaina and Ximea climed up, handhold after handhold, foothold after foothold. They could not waste a second.

Jaina rapelled down the other side and landed first with Ximea only a few seconds later. They ran forward and spotted Callista frozen in front of a steel beam four inches wide. Below the beam was a deep pit filled with explosives.

"They put explosives in there?" Callista exclaimed, astounded. "Exhibition Day's gotten more..._intense_...than I was told. There's no way you're getting me to cross that."

"Outside these walls is a war," Jaina murmured softly. "They're making sure we're prepared."

Jaina took a step forward, balancing all her weight on the balls of her feet. The beam creaked as she took another step, now placing both feet on. She stepped forward again, and several clicks echoed from around the sublevel. Jaina froze. "That doesn't sound good..."

Realizing that she left her glowrod at the base of the wall, Jaina pulled out another one from her pocket to further illuminate the area with only limited lighting. As she raised the rod, about half a dozen battledroids stepped out from behind the shadows, weapons pointed straight at her. Three were on the left side of the pit, the other three on the right. "_Sithspit!_"

Jaina cartwheeled forward, missing the first shots and dropping the glowrod.

"They're set for stun!" Ximea called from behind. "Won't kill us, but if you're incapacitated, there's no way we're going to win the race!"

Jaina hardly managed a nod, handstanding now to avoid further shots. She was able to move a few inches forward with her hands then she was forced to lift up her left arm to avoid a blast. Jaina grunted, her right arm trembling from carrying all her weight. She bent forward until she was standing again them somersaulted, avoiding a few shots. The beam shook violently when she landed, and Jaina extended both arms, taking a deep breath and struggling to maintain her balance.

The droids continued firing and Jaina flipped over some of them, choosing to cartwheel again under other blasts. She neared the end of the beam when a shot erupted next to her feet. Jaina slipped off without grace, barely managing to grab on with one arm.

"_JAINA_!" Callista and Ximea cried.

"I'm all right!" she called back. Jaina extended her right hand and then swung forward, bringing her left to her front and clutching the beam. "The droids' shots can't reach me down here."

"Just don't look down!" Callista yelled.

Acting on human instinct, Jaina glanced down and saw her feet dangling inches from the explosives. "_Blast!_" She swung herself forward faster and eventually reached the other end, hauling herself back onto the beam. She performed one last flip until she reached land again and pressed a button on the nearest wall.

The droids stopped firing and the beam extended, effectively creating a bridge. Jaina panted and caught her breath while Callista and Ximea dashed forward.

Jaina began running now and was a good three meters ahead of Ximea and Callista when she reached a long pool. "_Swim!_" she called to her friends and dove into the ice-cold water. Jaina swam to the surface and gasped, her body starting to shake. She took in a deep breath and shut her mouth to keep from chattering. Then she began to swim.

Jaina didn't look ahead or to her sides, she just kept swimming. After a while, her arm touched the other end. Jaina surfaced and saw Ximea, on the ground with a wide smile and a hand outstretched. Jaina grinned and took the hand, pulling herself up.

Callista arrived a minute later, her wet curls all tangled. She had an infuriated look on her face as Jaina and Ximea hauled her up. "I'm fr-fre-fr-!"

Jaina exhaled in exasperation and pulled her forward as she started to run. "Come _on_!"

The exit was in sight now, but to their horror, the door began to lower until it would seal shut.

"_Faster!_" Jaina yelled fiercely, increasing her speed. Ximea, the fastest of the three, ran ahead and through the exit. The door was already halfway down when Jaina dove below it. She rolled backwards and slipped a hand underneath it to help Callista.

Callista dove too, and Jaina clutched her and pulled. The door closed completely half a second after Callista was through. Jaina let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "We made it...we made it!"

Ximea grinned widely and only then did Jaina notice the five doors and the _empty_ room. Where were the other teams? Ximea continued smiling. "_We won_."

* * *

Jaina walked out of the turbolift leading back to the main Temple. She was in a fresh tunic, utterly exhausted but happy that the obstacle course was the last event of the day.

After the sparring match, an intense quiz bee followed, then several Force exercises, a rock-climbing race and the challenging obstacle course. The long day was finally over.

Callista and Ximea stepped out after her, looking equally or even more exhausted. She was certain, they were all picturing their beds at the moment. A door slid open to their right and the masters who were watching exited, talking in low whispers.

Jaina spotted Master Kenobi whispering something to Master Skywalker as he walked out. She froze and looked at her friends first. Her heart was pounding swiftly again and the anxiety she felt before every event resurfaced.

Ximea understood and grinned encouragingly. Callista looked back at her in confusion. "What?"

Jaina inhaled deeply and started to approach them. It was Master Skywalker who was the one whispering now, Master Kenobi listening intently. They saw her walking towards them and immediately stopped conversing. Jaina gulped. "My apologies if I'm bothering you, Master Kenobi, but I was wondering if I could speak with you for a moment."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "Oh, and before Callista Starr tells the entire Temple that Exhibition Day is dangerously full of explosives, inform her that those were empty detonator shells underneath the beam, will you?"

Jaina gaped at him in shock. "Oh, um, sure. I'll do that, Master Kenobi."

"I'll catch up with you later, Anakin," he said, nodding at Anakin, who was beginning to walk away.

"Will do, Master," Anakin said to him, already pretty far away. "Good night."

"Something on your mind, Jaina?" Obi-Wan asked.

They were walking along one of the Temple's long hallways. The ceiling lights had already been dimmed down, since, due to the lateness of the hour, most Jedi were either asleep or meditating. Jaina heard faint footsteps in the corridor perpendicular to the one they were walking along, and felt Callista's and Ximea's presences not too far away. She scowled. They were _eavesdropping_.

"Jaina?"

"Oh, uh, right. I'm sorry," she said quickly. "It's just...um...I was wondering if...have any initiates...?" Jaina stopped mid-sentence, her cheeks burning.

"I think I know what you're about to say," he said in gentle amusement.

"Good, because I seem to have forgotten," Jaina said with a sheepish laugh.

"Jaina, I'm not going to deny your talent and skill. I know you're very dedicated to the Order, and it's always nice sharing a conversation with you at the Sparring Chambers, but..." Obi-Wan paused. "I'm just not entirely certain if _I'm_ ready for another Padawan so soon after Anakin."

"Master Kenobi, I know what I want in life, I just want to make a difference and help people, I _need_ to," she said, a hint of desperation creeping its way into her voice. "I can't just sit here, and watch this war unfold in front of me without helping, it's going to...to eat me alive...I'm not afraid of risking my life, I can't think of a better way to spend it than fighting for the greater good, please believe me. _I won't fail you_."

The depth of her passion surprised even her, and he was stunned too, she could see it when his eyebrows rose slightly. Surely this was better than begging though...If she wasn't going to be picked, she had to save whatever dignity she had left.

"You seem so sure of what you want, Jaina," Obi-Wan mused after several moments passed. His blue eyes searched her face and Jaina got the horrifying feeling he knew everything she was thinking. She remained impassive, occasionally glancing at the night skies of Coruscant from a nearby window. "I'll give it a great amount of thought, Jaina, but I can't make you any promises. Yes, I will not lie, I have considered taking you under my wing. But this is war. The outside world may be extremely, painfully different from the life you've had in the Temple."

"I'm ready, Master Kenobi," she repeated in a simpler, more reassuring voice. "I won't fail you."

"People change during wars, Jaina. That's not what you need to worry about. Don't fail _yourself_."

* * *

**Author's Note: This was a flashback, similar to the one in the Prologue, but events here take place a day before it.**

**Shout-Outs!**

**ClassicalBrunette:** YUP, JAINA'S BACK! :D Hey, ClassicalBrunette! Yeah it's been forever LOL. I'll make sure to continue this and thanks! It's wonderful to see a familiar reader out there! :D

**BenKeto1415:** Thanks so much! :D

**newfoundspartan: **Thanks a lot! I introduced more characters here, and more Jedi you've seen in the TV series, the movie and read in books will make more appearances soon. Thanks again!

**marie: **Thank you so much, that means a lot to me!

**Catloverkid377148: **Thank you!

**Read, review, and enjoy, everyone :) May the Force be with you!**


	4. New Assignment

Chapter 3 - New Assignment

_Now...Four months after the Battle of Geonosis._

Fourteen year-old Jaina tiredly half-stumbled out of the Republic gunship and into the hangar bay of the majestic Jedi Temple. Behind her, a few clones were disembarking as well, probably to file a report on the mission to the Jedi Council. Jaina let out a long exhale and started walking towards the exit.

It was the middle of the night, and the traffic had already died down. Most of the lights in the Temple were dim, or had been completely shut off. The silence - the absence of the booming sounds of blasterfire and explosions - was both strange and relaxing for her. The calm atmosphere was something she hadn't experienced in weeks.

"Not tired, are we?" an amused voice asked from behind. "I never thought I would see this day."

"Nope, not at all, Master," Jaina retorted with a laugh.

"There's no fooling me, my young Padawan." Obi-Wan chuckled. "Make sure you get some rest today. You never know when we'll be called back into the field."

Jaina resisted the urge to sigh. "Yes, Master."

"That means no sparring either," he said giving her a pointed look.

She laughed. "Fine. No sparring. At least until tomorrow..."

"_Jaina_!" two distinct yells came from the exit of the hangar bay.

"Uh-oh." Jaina murmured. "Run!"

Obi-Wan took a couple of steps to the side to avoid being trampled as Ximea and Callista burst into the hangar bay and hugged her.

Thirteen year-old Callista was now the Padawan of the renowned duelist, Soara Antana, much to the surprise of many. She had the same large, brunette curls falling to her waist and her bright eyes sparkled in excitement.

Ximea, who was also thirteen, was more reserved. She had a sheepish smile on her face and her red hair was pulled back in a braid. Ximea was recently taken on as a Padawan by one of Obi-Wan's closest friends, the Mon Calamarian, Bant Eerin.

"We heard you were arriving tonight," Ximea explained. "Haven't seen you in weeks!"

"What happened?" Callista asked. "I mean, we saw the vids on the HoloNet but what really happened?"

"Uh, guys..." Jaina said, her voice muffled in Callista's hair. "_Ow_."

"Callista, Ximea, I wouldn't squeeze too hard," Obi-Wan said, and her Master looked like he was holding back a laugh. "Rough day."

"Sorry!" Ximea exclaimed, stepping back, Callista followed suit grudgingly.

"I'm going to retire," Obi-Wan remarked, already nearing the exit. "Get some rest, Padawan. That's an _order_. You can talk to them in the morning. Council meeting is in five hours. I'll meet you outside the chamber. Try not to be late."

Jaina grinned sheepishly, remembering one particular meeting. "Yes, Master. I'll _try_."

Obi-Wan shook his head with real disapproval this time and walked out. Callista and Ximea giggled.

"Yikes," Callista managed to say before bursting out in laughter. Ximea joined in and Jaina glowered at them.

"Right," Jaina said, picking up her backpack. "Glad I could amuse you two. Well, I've got an order to accomplish. Talk to you tomorrow. If anyone needs me, I'll be napping in my quarters."

"Tomorrow?" Callista furrowed her eyebrows. "Come on, can't you talk to us now? It's been so long."

"I want to, Callista," she replied with a smile. "I miss you too. But I really am tired. Haven't slept in days. Everything has been non-stop."

"Fine. First thing in the morning?" Callista asked.

"That's in like 7 hours..." Jaina moaned.

Callista glared at her.

"I'll be there."

* * *

A quiet, insistent knocking pulled Jaina out of her first peaceful sleep in weeks. She groaned and rolled off the bed, running a hand through her tangled hair. "What now...?" She opened the door and instantly snapped awake when she saw Obi-Wan fully dressed in his travelling robes.

"Did I miss something?" Jaina asked, confused. "What's going on?"

Obi-Wan sighed, and somehow she already knew what he was going to say before he said it. "They have another mission for us."

Jaina eyed her wrist chrono. It was four in the morning, only the fourth hour of her well-deserved sleep. "So soon? I mean, we haven't even reported on the last one."

"I reported a few hours ago, haven't gotten the chance to get much sleep myself," he said, and the large bags underneath his eyes proved it. "The mission is urgent and demands our immediate intervention. Greivous's speed in conquering hyperlanes makes our success even more crucial. We're to travel to a planet called Christophsis and prevent the Separatists from capturing it. Ever heard of Christophsis?"

Jaina scratched the back of her neck absently. "I'm afraid not...Then again, I'm only _half_-awake..."

Obi-Wan smiled gently, "I can see that. Stop by the Archives and get all the information you can on the system, Jaina. Madam Nu has been informed of the mission so she should be able to assist you."

Jaina nodded. "Yes, Master. "How much time do we have?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. I told Anakin we would be in the hangar bay in half an hour."

She nodded again. "I'll be quick. Is there anything else, Master?"

"None for now," Obi-Wan said. "I'll see you in the hangar bay in thirty minutes, Padawan."

Jaina inclined her head respectfully before he walked away. She shut the door immediately and took a shower in her room's refresher. As soon as she finished, she put on a fresh, black jumpsuit, brushed her hair and started packing her survival kit.

She'd exhausted most of its contents during the last mission, so Jaina tossed a new box of rations and water capsules, a pair of electrobinoculars, an extra utility belt and her spare lightsaber inside. She Force-pulled a jacket and a wetsuit from her closet for emergencies, folded them inside the survival pack, then zipped it shut.

Jaina double-checked her belt then hooked her lightsaber on. She turned off the lights in her room, then hurried out, on her way to the Archives.

* * *

"Thank you so much for your assistance, Madam Nu," Jaina said with a smile, bowing.

The Jedi Master smiled. "It was no problem, Jaina."

Jaina put the holobooks inside her survival pack and began running to the hangar bay. She glanced at her wrist chrono and cursed silently under her breath. "Six minutes..."

She bolted out of the turbolift and painfully ran into someone turning a corner and walking in the opposite direction. "_Ouch_!" Jaina yelped, stumbling back. "I'm so, so sorry! I didn't see you! Sorry, Gaspard!"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, Jaina," Gaspard Loahin said, getting up and extending a hand to help her. "You all right?"

"I'm fine, thanks," Jaina grinned sheepishly and took his hand, standing back up.

Gaspard was another teenage Padawan, already fifteen since he was months older than Jaina. He had blond hair that seemed like it was going to be eternally messy and stunning, blue-green eyes that always caught Jaina off-guard. Gaspard had been the Padawan of another one of Obi-Wan's friends, Garen Muln, for more than a year now, and, other than Faithe, he was one of Jaina's oldest and dearest friends.

He flashed a grin and handed her back the bag she dropped. "So, what's the rush?"

"Well, I have about..." Jaina checked her chrono and grimaced. "Well, I was _supposed_ to be in the hangar bay three minutes ago."

Gaspard laughed. "Not late again, are you? You know Master Obi-Wan is going to kill you!"

"Thanks, that helps me a whole lot," she said wryly. Jaina pulled out a pair of small flimsis. "Hey, Gaspard, would you mind slipping these under Ximea's and Callista's doors? I was supposed to meet them for breakfast tomorrow, but Master Obi-Wan and I were just assigned another mission. I don't have time to explain, but the flimsis pretty much do."

Gaspard whistled. "Callista is not going to be happy with this note."

"I know," Jaina said with a sigh. "But I have no choice, I have to leave." She hugged him briefly. "I'll see you when I get back."

"Hey, Jaina?" Gaspard called, when Jaina was already a few meters away.

"Yeah?"

He hesitated. "Just make sure that you _do_ come back."

"Don't worry, I will," Jaina said with a smile.

Gaspard glanced at his wrist chrono. "Five minutes late..."

Jaina snapped back into a sprint. "Oh, _blast_!"

* * *

Jaina burst through the hangar bay doors, panting and slightly out of breath. She quickened her pace until she reached the ship next to theirs, a dark blue Jedi Starfighter. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Masters," Jaina said with a bow to Anakin and Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak but Anakin beat him to it. "It's all right, Jaina. We were just getting ready."

Jaina nodded and tossed her survival pack inside the Starfigher's open cockpit. She checked the fuel meter and, seeing that it reached its maximum capacity, removed the tube from underneath the starfighter's belly. She double checked all other screens and leaned on it sleepily when she finished.

"All set, Jaina?" Obi-Wan asked.

"All set."

Anakin nodded. "All right, let's move."

"_JAINA_!" came a screeching, yelling voice from three rows behind. "A _FLIMSI_? You are _dead_!"

"Uh-oh..." Jaina murmured. "Callista was awake..."

"What a wonderful way to say goodbye!" Callista continued ranting, now nearing them. "Such a good friend!"

"Quick!" Jaina whispered desperately. "Let's get out of here!"

Callista burst out from behind Jaina's starfighter, her face sleepy, her hair a tangled mess.

"I didn't have a choice, Callista, I have to leave!" Jaina exclaimed.

"Oh, you did have a choice," she retorted furiously. "You chose to leave without saying goodbye the proper way!"

"I did not want to wake you," Jaina said. "And I had important errands to do before we left, we need to be prepared."

"You'd rather be _prepared_ than say goodbye?"

"If we are not prepared, my goodbye would have been permanent." Jaina said icily, her voice dead calm and somehow even more dangerous.

Callista scowled angrily. "Bye then. At least I'm decent enough to wish you goodbye. _Bye_." Without another word, she spun around and walked out the hangar bay.

Jaina shook her head tiredly and resisted the urge to throw something. She pulled a hand to her face and groaned. "This has got to be some horrible nightmare."

Obi-Wan put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm afraid not. You're going to have to focus on this one, Jaina," he reprimanded quietly. "Callista will forgive you."

Jaina nodded. "Yes, Master. Focusing now," she said dryly.

Obi-Wan ruffled her hair playfully and got into his starfighter. Anakin was already lifting off, it was typical for him to be a step ahead. Jaina sighed and got into hers after a quick greeting to the R4 unit.

She tucked her survival pack underneath her legs inside and quickly went through pre-flight check. Jaina powered the repulsors and her starfighter lifted off the ground. Seconds after Obi-Wan and Anakin shot out of the hangar bay, she followed.

As they lifted into the Coruscant atmosphere, she saw several of their _Venator_ Class Star Destroyers and other cruisers, the capital ships that made up their Open Circle Fleet, lift off too. Another day, another battle.

The sun was beginning to rise, and Jaina felt a mixture of depression and anticipation as they left Coruscant.

Kilometers ahead, Jaina spotted their hyperdrive rings. The three starfighters attached to the three rings and Anakin went into hyperspace first, followed quickly by her master.

The Star Destroyers, including her Master's flagship the _Integrity,_ went into hyperspace next with the transports, frigates, corvettes, freighters, cruisers and sqaudrons of fighters not far behind. Jaina sighed, and before the last batches of starfighters could have gone into lightspeed, she punched in the coordinates for Christophsis. The stars elongated as they always did, and Jaina awaited the next adventure, the next inevitable danger.

* * *

**A/N: Check out the homepage on my author profile, it's a site dedicated to Blurred Destinies!** **Hope you enjoyed the new chapter, please review, I appreciate comments :)**

**Shout-Outs!**

**Silver-ShadowSpark:** Thank you very, very much!

**Ben Keto1415:** Is it that big a shocker? LOL xD Thanks! I couldn't resist the rivalry ;) Thanks again!

**IncomCorporation: **Thank you so much! Nope, hehe. I realize the similiarity in their names, but Callista was actually based on a real-life friend of mine LOL

**Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Check out the site, I promise to update soon, and May the Force be with you :)**


	5. Battles and Rivalry

Chapter 4 - Battles and Rivalry

"The droids have gathered in this sector of the city," Captain Rex explained, pointing at the center of a holographic map. "Our troops have engaged them here, here and here," he pointed at three streets on the map. "The cannons are bearing on them and we suspect that they'll be retreating in a few hours."

Jaina used the momentary silence to glance around Christophsis. It must have been a beautiful planet before the Separatists conquered it. The crystalline buildings were not something she'd ever seen before, nor had she ever expected to see anything like it. The planet could have retained its beauty if it wasn't full of rubble, collapsed buildings and droids.

"I want four squads of troops in this street," her master was saying, gesturing at a wide avenue. "We have to protect the heavy cannons. Everyone else, you know the drill."

Anakin's mouth quirked up in a determined smile. "As always."

After a brief nod to his former master, Anakin disappeared. Jaina looked up at Obi-Wan for orders and he gestured forward. "You and I can take this street. We can't allow them to advance too far under any circumstances."

Jaina grinned and ignited her lightsaber. "They won't get through us, Master."

Obi-Wan smiled briefly and nodded, dashing forward. The droids nearby began firing but most hardly got the chance to fire before being cut down.

"Right behind you, Master!" Jaina jumped forward and began slashing her own droids.

Ever since he had taken her on as a padawan, Obi-Wan held training matches with and against her and taught her how to exert as little energy as possible when it came to droids. She was no master at it yet, but she had to admit, things were getting so easy.

A group of Super Battle Droids marched forward and Jaina narrowed her eyes. She blocked all the shots they fired, aiming them back at their bodies.

One flew past her lightsaber and past her face, with only a few inches to spare. Jaina exhaled and continued cutting them down. Her master was a few meters ahead, his lightsaber a moving blur.

His feet were hardly even moving and Jaina knew that this was the epitome of "not exerting effort".

Jaina somersaulted, cutting down three droids as she landed, and stayed a few steps behind her master. Only a few dozen droids remained and Obi-Wan was already slashing them down with ease.

She extended a hand and sent three droids flying towards the nearest piece of rubble. The loud "aaaaahs" they exclaimed before crashing was enough to make Jaina laugh for a second.

Obi-Wan cut down the last two Super Battle droids and turned around, scanning the empty area.

"Is that it...?" Jaina asked, breaking the silence.

He didn't answer immediately, but walked around the street, searching for droids he might have missed.

As she expected, there were none.

"That's it," Obi-Wan confirmed. "Let's go see how the others are doing."

"Yes, Master," Jaina said and she followed him back down the street to their base. Captain Rex and Anakin were already back, and Commander Cody arrived minutes later.

"Well, I'd say that was relatively easy," Anakin remarked, leaning against one of the remaining walls that their "base" contained. "Our cruiser was sent back for reinforcements and supplies, Master, it should be back soon."

Obi-Wan nodded. "This isn't over yet." He leaned over the map. "The droids have several squads of reinforcements too. And though our cannons destroyed most of their tanks, they have a pretty big amount left. There could be a second wave."

"I agree," Rex said. "Best to stay alert."

"Master," Jaina said. "Should I patrol the area? I'll alert you if there are any signs of a second wave."

"Good thinking, Padawan. Don't go too far."

"Yes, Master." Jaina bowed respectfully at him and Anakin then walked out of the base.

There wasn't much to see, it was the same everywhere. Medics were gathered behind the cannons, tending to all the wounded, the front line was still up, with clones awaiting an attack that did not come, and the few crates of supplies left were behind the cannons and in front of the medics.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary for now.

Jaina pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars from her survival pack and swept the perimeter. Kilometers away, Super Battle Droids were marching towards them from the center of the city. Jaina cursed under her breath and began the hand signals that would alert the clones of the incoming attack. "Seps are back!" she yelled. "Positions!"

"Go! Go Go!" The commander yelled, running forward with his blasters blazing.

Jaina ignited her lightsaber and clicked her wrist comm three times, alerting their base, and her master, of the attack. The members of the front line moved forward, tossing grenades and shooting at all the nearest droids. Jaina deflected all the incoming blasts and cut down as many droids as she could while waiting for Anakin and Obi-Wan.

The heavy cannons behind her shot relentlessly, destroying groups of droids at a time. Jaina glanced back at the cannons when something large shook the ground underneath her feet. She whirled around and saw a huge Octuptarra droid only a few meters away. "Well that's not good..."

She somersaulted backwards to evade the first shot, then jumped again, towards the droid. She slashed the first of the three legs then used the momentum of her jump to grab one of its guns and swing herself to the next leg. She slashed it off again and once her feet touched the ground, she sprang away before the droid could have collapsed atop her.

It landed with a loud groan, and Jaina pulled out a tiny grenade from her belt. She tossed it at the Octuptarra droid on the ground and it blew up, destroying any remains. Jaina grinned briefly and destroyed four more Super Battle Droids before falling back several steps.

"They're back!" She heard Anakin yell irritably from behind.

"I told you this was too easy," her master said, also from behind. "They caved in too fast. We never should have sent the ship back for supplies. Some victory, Anakin..."

"It wasn't my idea to send the ship back," Anakin said indignantly. "_Master_."

Jaina stood behind them, her lightsaber still held in a defensive two-handed grip. She felt her aggravation rise. She was never as fond of Master Skywalker as she was of her own master, but his disrespect really annoyed her.

"Neither of us is perfect then," Obi-Wan said. "Second wave incoming, men."

"Rex, you and your men follow me," Anakin said, already dashing forward.

"Cody, battle positions!" Obi-Wan ordered, igniting his lightsaber.

Jaina stayed at her master's left, blocking the shots that came their way. The clones shot endlessly, destroying the nearest droids while the heavy cannons blew up tens of droids at a time.

Jaina looked at her master, and Obi-Wan lifted a fist in the air. All clones knew that signal.

"_Fire!_" Cody yelled.

The blasterfire intensified and Jaina could hear the muffled yells of the clones behind her.

"Incoming!"

Jaina spared a second to glance behind her and see a few clones run forward and leave their cover behind. They had barely taken three steps before being hit by the stray shots and falling dead to the ground.

Jaina felt her chest tighten and she took a deep breath before looking away.

"Skywalker should have attacked by now!" Cody exclaimed.

"Don't worry!" Obi-Wan said. "He knows the plan!"

Jaina itched to take a step forward and destroy the nearest droids, but she stayed where she was and felt only slightly shocked when she saw Anakin jump off of a nearby building, landing on another octuptarra droid. His clone squad followed and blasted at it, attempting to penetrate the armor.

"Come on then!" Obi-Wan yelled, and he ran forward, his lightsaber held high.

Jaina tightened her grip on her own hilt and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she followed her master. The clones continued yelling inside their helmets and from her peripheral vision, she could see a helmet flying off, a body hitting the ground and another clone attempt to punch a Super Battle droid before getting blown up in the process.

More clones were getting killed, and Jaina found it difficult to breathe as she slashed at as many droids as she could. Though this was certainly not the first battle she'd been in since the war began, Jaina would never get used to the horrible feeling she got every time someone was killed near her.

It made her want to just curl up in a corner, not be in the front lines with death everywhere.

The last octuptarra droid fell, and before she knew it, Anakin was in front of her, next to her master.

"We're going to need reinforcements," he said urgently. "_Fast_."

"We haven't been able to get through to the admiral," Obi-Wan replied, with equal urgency. "Must be atmospheric conditions."

"We have to get these guys out anyway," Rex said, looking and sounding weary.

Jaina looked at her surroundings, still keeping her lightsaber up defensively to block stray shots, and saw all the desperately working medics, all the men lying on the ground. There were probably more than a dozen of them.

"Come on!" Rex exclaimed at the remaining clones. "I said, _let's get these guys clear_! Move it!"

Jaina knelt down next to the nearest crumpled body, and lifted the helmet off for a pulse. It was there, but it was weak. "Medic! He's alive, but just barely!"

A medic knelt next to Jaina, and she nodded at him before standing up and helping those she could. She wasn't training to be a Healer, but she knew the basics and was taking classes back in the Temple.

As soon as those injured were moved behind the buildings and the cannons to be tended by the medics, it was time to move those that did not make it. She helped her master and Anakin count the casualties, using all of her remaining energy to bury down her painful emotions.

Her breathing was heavy and labored by the time they finished counting, and she felt exhausted, not just from the battle, but from seeing all those lying dead on the ground. Like she said before, the Confederacy was losing nothing, just machines they could continue building, machines that had no idea what they were really fighting for.

The Republic was losing soldiers, brave men fighting for something bigger than themselves. They were losing _lives_.

It wasn't fair in the slightest bit.

Jaina furrowed her eyebrows. All she could hear were her own thoughts. Where was the metallic clanking of the droids advance?

"The droids have halted their assault. Let's hope that doesn't mean they're moving long-range artillery into position," her master said, breaking the eerie silence. He wiped the sweat off his face with the back off his glove, smearing dust and oil across his cheeks and his beard. Jaina knew how the droids would scatter pieces and oil whenever they were hit. "I don't think we can take much more of this."

Jaina heard a faint humming and looked up to see an armored Republic shuttle. An greater sound that made her day, was the return of the metallic clanks, as the droids about-turned, and marched away. "They're pulling back!"

She felt relief in every bone of her body and couldn't help but smile as the shuttle landed in the plaza.

"Looks like help has arrived," Obi-Wan remarked, starting to walk towards it. Jaina followed, her typical half-step behind. "Our cruiser must be back."

"Which means we'll be able to get our reinforcements," Anakin said.

"Well, then it looks like our problems are solved," Obi-Wan said, an amused smile creeping its way onto his face. "Fresh troops, new supplies, and perhaps they've brought a new Padawan for you with them."

"You really think it's a good idea to bring a Padawan learner into all this?" Anakin asked doubtfully.

Jaina opened her mouth to speak, but her master beat her to it. "Yes, I do, I spoke to Master Yoda about it" he said. "And what exactly do you think Jaina is to me?"

"I don't know..." Anakin murmured, looking uncomfortable for once. "She's...different."

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Exactly_ how_ am I different, Master Skywalker?"

"You'd make a good teacher," Obi-Wan interrupted.

"No thanks," Anakin said with a chuckle.

"Anakin, teaching is a privilege," Obi-Wan continued to push. "And it's part of a Jedi's responsibility to help train the next generation."

"A Padawan would just slow me down," Anakin said with conviction.

This time, Jaina really stopped in her tracks, eyebrow raised again. "Are you saying that I slow Master Obi-Wan down?"

They both stopped too, Obi-Wan holding a fist to his mouth to keep from laughing. "Oh, you've done it now, Anakin..."

Anakin glared at his former master then scratched at the back of his head absently. "I'm not," he said. "I'm not saying that...Again, you're different!"

"_How_ am I different?"

Obi-Wan turned around and Jaina and Anakin followed suit. The landing ramp of the Republic shuttle lowered and Jaina inhaled sharply, her hands balling into fists.

A familiar-looking Togruta descended from the ramp, an air of pride and determination surrounding her. Jaina exhaled and struggled to keep her emotions in control.

"A youngling...?" Obi-Wan mused.

"Oh, boy..." Jaina murmured under her breath. Obi-Wan glanced at her.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Anakin asked rudely.

"Master Yoda sent me," The Togruta said. "I'm Ahsoka Tano."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks again for the reviews!**

**Lady Aiedail: Thank you very much :) I was always fascinated with characters like Siri and Bant, and you'll see a lot more of them later on. Yup, I read Jedi Trial and I remember quite clearly all the events that happened there, but I thought that there were just so many events that took place in between Geonosis and Praesitlyn that I'd enjoy writing with Jaina and Ahsoka present (such as Jabiim, Azure, etc). The main point of this story is to show the perspective of the teenage Jedi that go through war and the courage they possess to cope with it because they must. ****So I decided to make Anakin's knighthood happen sooner and change the timeline a tiny bit for this story :)**

**IncomCorporation: With everything that is going to happen, I think Callista will get over it soon :) Thanks so much again!**

**Ben Keto1415: LOL, typical typos :D Thanks! Callista's going to be more of a comic relief type of character later on :) Thanks again!**

**Read, review and enjoy! May the Force be with you all :)**


	6. The Other Padawan

Chapter 5 - The Other Padawan

Jaina took in another deep breath, letting her aggravation go with the air she exhaled. Obi-Wan continued to glance at her and put a restraining hand on her shoulder. He briefly gave her a stern glare before turning away.

Ahsoka trotted down the ramp and looked at Anakin and Obi-Wan, her chin held high. "I was instructed to tell both of you that you all must return to the Temple immediately. There's an emergency."

"Look, I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in a bit of a situation right here," Anakin said bluntly.

"Yes, our communications have been a bit unreliable," Obi-Wan said. "But we have been calling for help."

"Master Yoda hadn't heard from you so he sent me to deliver the message," Ahsoka said.

"Sent you?" Obi-Wan asked. "So where's the cruiser? Where are our reinforcements? Our support?"

"Oh, great!" Anakin exclaimed in frustration.

"Looks like they don't even know we're in trouble," Jaina murmured, despair beginning to sink in.

"Maybe you could relay a signal through the cruiser that just dropped me off," Ahsoka suggested.

For the first time in her life, Jaina felt the cold, intense stab of envy. She followed the three of them back to the base grudgingly, keeping her distance and wishing that Ahsoka would just leave.

Obi-Wan slowed down until he was next to her and Anakin and Ahsoka were out of earshot.

"All right," he said with a sigh. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Jaina said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Why would you think something's wrong?"

He stopped and glared at her sternly. "Jaina."

She winced. He'd said her name softly, but the authority behind it left no room for excuses. This was his strictest tone, his sternest glare, and he hardly ever used _those_ on her. This was going to be embarrassing...

"It's nothing, Master," Jaina murmured timidly. "Ahsoka and I...well, to put it bluntly, we're not the best of friends."

"I noticed," he said wryly.

"I apologize, Master. Although my almost-outburst went unnoticed, it won't happen again."

"I should hope not, Padawan," Obi-Wan said. "Emotions like the ones you displayed earlier, envy, resentment, even anger, they have no place in a Jedi. Especially a Jedi at _war_."

Jaina inclined her head. "Again, I apologize, Master."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Come on.

They both walked to the communications center of their base, where Anakin and Rex were already conversing. Ahsoka stood quietly in between them, her aura of confidence forgotten at least for now.

Obi-Wan stood across them, Jaina behind him. A hologram of Master Yoda appeared at the center of the table.

"Master Kenobi," Yoda's hologram greeted. "Glad Ahsoka found you, I am."

"Master Yoda, we are trapped here and vastly outnumbered," Obi-Wan said. "We are in no position to go anywhere or do anything. Our support ships have all been destroyed."

"Send reinforcements to you, we will," Yoda said, his image flickering.

"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan called, as the hologram began to fade. "Master Yoda!"

"Great," Anakin murmured, frustrated.

Jaina sighed and stared at the ground, thinking deeply, while Ahsoka looked from Anakin to Obi-Wan to Jaina. Obi-Wan glanced at all three Jedi around him and put on a small smile.

"My apologies, young one," he said to Ahsoka. "It's time for a proper introduction. Might as well get to know you while you're here."

"She's not going to be here long, Master," Anakin muttered.

"I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi," Obi-Wan continued, ignoring Anakin's remark. "I assume you've already met Jaina, my Padawan, and heard of Anakin."

"I'm the new Padawan learner," Ahsoka said. "I'm Ahsoka Tano. Actually, I might be here a while. I'm afraid I've been assigned to Master Skywalker," Ahsoka said pointing at Anakin.

Anakin's eyes went as wide as plates. "_WHAT?! _No, no, no, no, there has got to be some mistake. _He's_the one that wanted the Padawan," he exclaimed, jabbing a finger at Obi-Wan.

"And he's already got one," Jaina remarked.

"No," Ahsoka said to Anakin. "My orders were very specific. 'I'm assigned to Anakin Skywalker, and he is to supervise my Jedi training'," she said smugly.

"But that doesn't make any sense!"

"We'll have to sort this out later," Obi-Wan interrupted, choosing to ignore Anakin's glare. "It won't be long before those droids figure out a way around our cannons."

"I'll check on Rex on the lookout post," Anakin said with a sigh.

"Better take her with you," Obi-Wan said cheerfully.

"They make quite a team," Jaina remarked as soon as they were out of hearing range.

Obi-Wan laughed and began following them to the skyscraper that served as their lookout post. "That they do."

* * *

"_Who's the youngling_?"

Jaina restrained herself from laughing as she heard Captain Rex's blunt remark.

She and Obi-Wan were in one of the corners of the lookout post, trying to get a signal.

"I'm Master Skywalker's _Padawan_," Ahsoka retorted. "The name's Ahsoka Tano."

Jaina rolled her eyes but didn't say the things she desperately wanted to when Obi-Wan looked at her warningly.

"Sir, I thought you said that you'd never have a Padawan," Rex said to Anakin.

"There's been a mix-up," Anakin said. "The youngling isn't with me."

"Stop calling me that!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "You're stuck with me, _Skyguy_."

Jaina almost dropped the headset she held to one ear and Obi-Wan's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Skyguy," Rex said taking off his helmet and laughing. "Skyguy..."

"What did you call me?!" Anakin demanded. "Don't get snippy with me, little one. You know, I don't think you're old enough to even be a Padawan!"

"I'm not a youngling. I'm fourteen! Jaina's fourteen."

"And I'm ten," Rex said with a straight face. "but I'm tall for my age."

"In my defense," Jaina remarked putting her headset down, "I'm slightly older than you. And I've had months worth of experience when it comes to war."

"Anyway, Master Yoda thinks I'm old enough," Ahsoka said with another smug smile.

"Well, you're not with Master Yoda now," Anakin said sharply. "He's light-years away. _I'm _here, it's me you've got to persuade. And seeing as I can't ship you back to Coruscant yet, you might as well make yourself useful. If you're ready, you better start proving it. Jaina will be showing you how a little respect can go a long way."

"I will be _what_?" Jaina asked, looking up abruptly. "With all due respect, Master Skywalker, I'm trying to get a signal and..."

She trailed off when she met his icy glare. Jaina glanced at her own Master. He had an indifferent expression and met her pleading gaze evenly.

"I don't see why not. I think I can handle communications on my own for a while," Obi-Wan said. "Don't go too far, Padawan."

Jaina sighed, putting her headphones on top of a crate. "Yes, Master."

She stood up and passed Ahsoka and Anakin. "Come on, _youngling_."

"Padawan," Ahsoka growled, following her.

"And if Jaina gives you an order," Anakin said, "you _take_ it, okay?"

"Yes, Skyguy," Ahsoka said, her eyes narrowing.

"I have no say when it comes to the way you bully your Padawan, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as Jaina and Ahsoka walked away. "But please refrain from bullying _mine_."

* * *

"Have you thought about moving that line back, _Padawan_ _Knightrunner_?" Ahsoka asked innocently.

Jaina grimaced. The way Ahsoka spat her name made it sound like a curse instead of a rank.

"They'd have better cover that way," Ahsoka continued.

"Thanks for the suggestion," Jaina said, her voice dripping with fake politeness. "But Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker think they're fine where they are."

"They need cover," Ahsoka pushed.

"Yes, but they also need range_."_

"We're the same rank now. Hypothetically, I could give an order to someone to move the cannons, right?"

"Hypothetically, no, _not _hypothetically, you're still a youngling. And I recall Master Anakin asked _you_ to follow _my_ orders. Right?"

"I'm a Padawan!"

Jaina sighed and sat down on a nearby crate. "Let me explain to you the way the universe works."

"I still think--"

"Are you afraid, Ahsoka?"

"No! 'course not."

"That's stupid," Jaina stated tactlessly. "You should be. If you aren't afraid in a war, then I doubt you've grasped the severity of the situation. I take my orders from Master Obi-Wan...er, General Kenobi. It's called the chain of command and it really _matters_. We all have to be clear on who's in charge. Otherwise there'd be chaos everywhere. And you'll take your orders from General Skywalker _if_ you are indeed his Padawan. With me so far?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Would you like to learn the most important things about surviving a war that aren't taught at the Temple?"

She nodded again soundlessly.

"One," Jaina said, holding up an index finger. "_Orders_. You have to follow orders. They will keep you alive. Two, you're part of a _team_. We look out for buddies. I cover your back, you cover mine, simply because we have to. Three, an officer rank or even a Jedi rank, like Padawan, Commander, Red Leader and whatnot, they don't give you automatic respect. You have to _earn_ it. You have to prove yourself. You have to show that you deserve to be here. That you can protect yourself and lead those under you. It's not Master Kenobi's rank that makes me and everyone else give him one hundred percent. Everyone treats him and Master Skywalker with respect because they don't just sit at the base and plan tactics. Master Kenobi puts himself on the line with everybody else, he's just in the same amount of danger as the next clone. It's all about earning respect, Ahsoka, don't go waving titles around."

"I guess that makes sense..." Ahsoka said hesitantly.

"So, are you scared?"

"Yes. You?"

"Since the very beginning."

"Ouch."

"Come on," Jaina said chuckling. "Let's check the perimeter. At least there aren't any civilians here. I hate seeing innocent people die, it's the worst feeling ever...And with the droids not caring about the rules of engagement, civvies can be a real disadvantage for us..."

"What's that?" Ahsoka asked, pointing at something behind Jaina.

"What's what?" Jaina asked, turning to look. "Uh-oh. Not good..."

"You didn't answer my question, _what is that_?"

"It's an energy field," she replied quietly. "Going to make things almost impossible....The cannons cannot penetrate that. We don't have the numbers to keep the droids pinned down either. We've got to get back and warn the others, come on."

"I'm sure Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker have a plan," Ahsoka said.

"They always do. They've mostly got more than one up their sleeve in fact. Just have to keep trying until something works," Jaina said. "And hope we don't die before that."

"Master Yoda might be able to get support here in time," Ahsoka said.

Jaina glanced back at the expanding diameter of the shield. "We can only hope."

"Don't worry," she said. "I may not like you that much as of now, but I'll watch your back."

"I never said I was fond of you either but I'll watch yours," Jaina said with a slight smile. "Fourth important thing I almost forgot. _Experience _outranks almost everything 'round here. And it looks like you're about to get plenty."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I think we all know what happens next :D Sorry if this chapter is really short, but I shall update soon :)**

**Ahsoka14: Thank you!**

**Ben Keto1415: You'll be recognizing a lot more scenes from the movie, Jaina will just be inserted into them :D Thank you, and yes it will :D **

**IncomCorporation: That was always the main thing that occupied my mind when I watched the movies or read the books, how it must feel like to be surrounded by death. I thought that it would affect Jaina a lot, being only a teenager. Regarding Jaina and Ahsoka, we'll see hehehe :D**

**Lady Aiedail****: Yup, I'm continuing with the plot of the movie. But it might be slightly different lol. No problem and that's exactly why I moved it :D Thank you so much!**

**AknSkywalker: Here ya go, and thank you!**

**Thanks for the reviews :) I'll update soon and may the Force be with you :)**


	7. Crisis

Chapter 6 - Crisis

Obi-Wan stared at the holochart of Crystal City, his mind working furiously. His Padawan stood across him, her brow also furrowed in intense concentration.

"It's going to be difficult to pinpoint the field generator accurately, but I'm guessing it's somewhere in this area," Jaina was saying. "The shield is elliptical, so it's probably within this radius." She made a loop with her forefinger to indicate the range of positions in the holographic map.

"I think you're right," he murmured. "The cannons are not going to make a dent in that, so I say we save our ordnance for later. In the meantime, all we can do is try to engage them in confined spaces."

"We could draw them into the buildings," Rex said. "They've got to find us first before fighting us. They can't fire their own cannon from inside the shield, so let's make their defenses work against them."

"If that shield is such a problem, why don't we just take out the generator?" Ahsoka asked Jaina, speaking for the first time. "Or is it not that simple?"

"It's possible..." Jaina murmured after a moment. "But that's easier said than done."

Obi-Wan looked at them both. Something had changed between them but he couldn't quite place his finger on it.

"It's _not_ that simple," Anakin said firmly.

"It's a suicide mission," Rex added. "I doubt I'd get many volunteers for that, and we'd lose plenty of great men."

"I could do it," Ahsoka said. "Let me try, Skyguy."

"You don't have to prove anything, little 'un," Rex said.

"I can do it," she repeated. "I'm small and I'm fast, where better to use Jedi skills?"

Anakin sighed. "I, for one," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Agree with her. Someone must penetrate the Sep lines and destroy the generator. That is the key."

"Right then, perhaps you two could tiptoe through the enemy lines and solve this particular problem together?" Obi-Wan said.

"Can do, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said quickly.

"I'll decide what we can and can't do," Anakin reprimanded.

"If Jaina and I can engage them here, you might get through their lines undetected here," Obi-Wan said, gesturing at points in the map.

"We won't have much time," Jaina remarked. "Our ability to streetfight will be limited without the use of heavy cannons."

"We'll figure out a way," Ahsoka said cheerfully, finally taking her eyes off the map. "Come on, Master."

"If we survive this, _Snips_, you and I are gonna have a talk," Anakin growled, already starting to walk away.

"Snips?"

"That's what you get for being snippy."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms and eyed his padawan. "What did you do with her?"

She grinned at him sheepishly. "Callista always said I wasn't good when it came to pep talks. I might have overdone it..."

"Well, whatever you did, she seems a lot more subdued."

"I just told her the way things work around here, that's all," Jaina said. "How to be a good soldier and a good apprentice, at least from what I have observed."

"She's different," Obi-Wan remarked. "So is the way you treat each other."

"We're still not yet the best of friends, but at least now she has some idea how to get things right. I just hope she doesn't try too hard to prove herself and attempt something suicidal. Do you think they stand a chance?"

"They better," he said soberly. "If they can't get through those shields, they'll be no escape for any of us."

* * *

"That shield is certainly putting a crimp in my day!" Obi-Wan said, shutting off his binoculars.

"It was worth a try," Jaina murmured.

"Tell the men to fall back," Obi-Wan told Rex. "At least it makes us look convincing, like we're retreating because we're in trouble."

"Sir, we look convincing because we _are_ in trouble," Rex stated flatly.

Obi-Wan almost smiled. "Just whistling in the dark, Rex. Have we cracked their comm encryption yet?"

It took Rex several minutes to yell false orders in his helmet link. The Seps would hear those orders and think the instructions to retreat were authentic.

"Yes, sir, we have" Rex said. "General Loathsom has given the order to go for our cannons. The shield front will be at this point in five standard minutes."

Obi-Wan squeezed the hilt of his lightsaber, Jaina looking up at him questioningly. "Do you believe in nominative determinism, Rex?" he asked.

"If my name was Whorm Loathsom, I'd prefer not to, sir."

"I'm sure his mother loves him," Jaina said wryly.

"Now, let's keep our heads down until the shield passes over us," Obi-Wan said.

"What if they get captured, Master?" Jaina asked quietly, breaking the silence. "Master Anakin and Ahsoka I mean."

"We didn't have the resources to take the shield and we don't have the resources to extract them either, my young Padawan," he replied. "We just have to trust them."

The shield passed over all their heads and made Obi-Wan's scalp tingle. He glanced to his right and saw Jaina stiffen. She was crouched next to him, perfectly balanced with her weight on the balls of her feet. Her face was tight with concentration, her thumb impatiently tapping the activation button on her lightsaber hilt.

"We're inside the shield," Obi-Wan said. "Just stay away from those tanks."

"Time to do some proper damage," Jaina remarked with a smirk.

"Stay close, Padawan," Obi-Wan ordered, then he casually hopped off the balcony.

Jaina followed a split-second later, igniting her lightsaber as she did. They landed quietly, in between spider droids. He struck the first one down and, after making sure that his apprentice had things in control, he moved forward, flanked by Rex and Cody.

Cutting three droids in half, Obi-Wan spared a glance back. Jaina was atop one of two octuptarra droids, blocking the shots that came her way but jumping across its guns so that some shots that the second one fired would hit it.

Once it began to tumble down, he saw her somersault to the second one and cut all four of its guns off. Jaina backflipped to the ground and slashed at a pair of Super Battledroids. Obi-Wan could have smiled if the situation wasn't so dire. He Force-pushed a spider droid back and sliced more clankers nearby.

"Fall back!" Rex yelled. "Retreat!"

"Jaina, get back! _Now!_" he called, seeing her slashing at the droids threatening the remains of the front line.

She nodded and moved back along with the clones. The blasterfire got even more intense, the smoke made it difficult to see. All around, droids were closing in on them.

Obi-Wan whirled around when he heard Jaina's stunned, pained yelp. An explosion flung her at a wall meters away and the droids started marching towards her while she attempted to recover.

Obi-Wan Force-pushed them at the wall while he somersaulted towards Jaina then sliced the six of them in half before they could have fired. "Jaina--"

"I'm all right, Master!" Jaina exclaimed over the blasterfire, ignoring his outstretched hand and pushing herself up. "I'm fine."

"They're right behind us, sir," Rex yelled, coming in. "They wiped out most of my unit. We had to pull out of there."

Another explosion rocked the ground. Obi-Wan grabbed Jaina by the arm then shoved her to a crouch behind the remains of a console before taking cover beside her. "Get your men out, Rex," he said as Rex crouched behind the remains of a wall to their left. "Get back to the artillery position."

"We're stuffed, sir," Rex panted. "Unless we let the shield overtake the cannon, that is."

"Fire the cannons _within_ the shield?" Jaina asked, astounded.

"I know it'll direct the blast and the overpressure will cream us but we're dead either way unless Skywalker can kill that shield generator. Might as well take as many tinnies down with us as we can."

"It's not a suicide mission yet, Rex," Obi-Wan said sternly. "Not on my watch. Get your men out and defend those heavy cannons. Do everything you can to protect them. My Padawan and I will delay the droids."

"Sir, with all due respect, you're _crazy_."

"No, I'm your General. And that was an order, Captain, _get clear_!"

Rex and his men darted away without another word and Obi-Wan jumped atop the console to block the shots fired their way. Jaina remained on the ground, tiredly and half-heartedly deflecting bolts. They destroyed the droids they could until a tank burst through the wall, sending rubble in every direction.

The droids surrounded them and he could feel the rising panic in his apprentice as she frantically attempted to formulate an escape plan.

A hatch opened at the top of the tank and Whorm Loathsom emerged, looking every bit as despicable as he imagined. "You must be the infamous General Kenobi," he hissed.

"I surrender."

"_What?!_" Jaina looked at him abruptly. "We can't--"

Obi-Wan silenced her with a cold look and eventually regretted his severity when Jaina shut her mouth and turned away, a hurt expression on her face. A pair of Super Battledroids approached them and took their lightsabers, Jaina's with more difficulty since she had an angry, steel grip and a murderous glare.

"Now, Master Kenobi, order your troops to stand down," Loathsom said.

Obi-Wan used the Force to levitate pieces of rubble to form a table and three chairs. "General, have a seat."

"Have you gone mad?!"

"I've conceded the battle. Now we simple have to negotiate the terms of surrender."

"Don't try any of your tricks, Jedi," Loathsome threatened.

"Surely, there's no reason we can't be civilized about this," Obi-Wan said at his politest. "It's a rare honor to meet one's opponent face to face."

Loathsom descended from the ramp and sat down on one side of the table.

Obi-Wan sat across him and gestured for his Padawan to take the seat to his right. She did so with great hesitation.

"You're a legend throught the Inner Core," Obi-Wan continued.

"Thank you," Loathsom said, exhaling in relief. "The honor is all mine. I'm so glad you decided to surrender."

"Well, at some point, one must accept the reality of the situation," he said, before faking a cough. "Might we have some refreshments?"

"You!" Loathsom barked at his droid. "Bring us something liquid."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said with a polite smile. "This shouldn't take long."

* * *

"And of course, once you've taken custody of my troops, arrangements will have to be made for their food and shelter. Tell me, do you have enough supplies to--"

"Enough of this!" Loathsom bellowed at him. "You are stalling!"

Obi-Wan smiled, despite feeling his Padawan stiffen next to him. "Nonsense," he said, on the verge of bursting into laughter. "General, there are numerous detales to be discussed."

Jaina frowned in confusion after Obi-Wan winked at the general and she set her untouched tea on the table.

Loathsom growled. "Seize them!"

Two Super Battledroids grabbed Obi-Wan by his arms and the angry grunt from behind told him that Jaina had been lifted off the ground as well. Jaina was continuing to struggle, attempting to get her arm free of their iron grip. Obi-Wan looked at her reassuringly, then smiled politely at Loathsom.

"Unless you call off your troops, I will have no choice but to destroy you!" he yelled.

"Truthfully, I was hoping your shield would be knocked out by now," Obi-Wan remarked.

Right on time, the crimson shield began to disappear and the sun cast a beautiful, non-red glow on everything. Jaina exhaled deeply, muttering, "Finally."

Obi-Wan smiled at her briefly then looked at Loathsom. "Oh, well."

He backflipped out of the droids' grip then Force-pushed them towards each other as he landed. He spotted Jaina Force-pushing the piece of rubble that had served as her chair at the legs of both droids holding her up. They fell to the ground, letting her go, and she pulled her lightsaber back to her open palm.

Obi-Wan grabbed Loathsom and held him in front of his own body while Jaina deflected the blasterfire coming their way.

"Don't fire!" Loathsom exclaimed, terrified.

"Ha, something appears to have happened to your shield, General," Obi-Wan said mockingly.

A wide grin spread on his Padawan's face and she deactivated her lightsaber. "I have to admit, it's only been less than a day, and Ahsoka has already inherited Master Skywalker's perfect timing."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed :) Please review :)**

**Ben Keto1415: Thanks! That was a lot of fun to write LOL**

**IncomCorporation: It's going to be a very rough friendship, when it does happen. Thank you so much!**

**Ahsoka 14: Thank you very, very much!**

**I'm pretty eager to finish the movie, so I'd say maybe about two more chapters of the Clone Wars movie, then I'll move on to the Wild Space novel, the TV series and much more :D Leave me comments/reviews, and thanks for reading! May the Force be with you :)**


	8. Unprecedented Bargain

Chapter 7 - Unprecedented Bargain

Jaina sat down on top of one of the supply crates in the landing strip the clones had created for the reinforcements. Her master stood in front of her, surveying everything with his keen eyes. His arms were crossed, his posture perfectly upright.

A Republic gunship landed near them and Yoda stepped to the ground, gimmer stick supporting his weight. Obi-Wan smiled and inclined his head. "Master Yoda."

Jaina stood up and bowed respectfully, repeating her master's greeting.

"Good to see you two, it is," Yoda said with a small smile in return. "Worried I was, that too late we were."

"We can hold them off for a pretty long time, Master," Obi-Wan said. "No need to worry."

"And Ahsoka?"

Jaina grinned. "I think Master Skywalker's doing his best to cope with her."

Obi-Wan scratched the back of his neck. "That he was shocked is an understatement," he said with a smile. "He thinks he's not ready for a Padawan, swore that it was a mistake."

"Hmm. If not ready he is, then send Ahsoka back to the Temple, we can."

"Master Yoda, she's pretty snippy, as Master Skywalker would say, but I really think those two make the perfect pair," Jaina remarked. "You know how people say that opposites attract when it comes to master-padawan pairs? About how it balances out a team and makes them have more to learn from each other. That doesn't really apply to them, Master Skywalker needs someone exactly like him."

"Apply to you two, that saying does not either," Yoda said with amusement, looking from Jaina to Obi-Wan.

"After Anakin, I deserve someone almost exactly like me," Obi-Wan said in mock defense.

"Need a Padawan, Skywalker does, if learn to control his attachment, he will," Yoda said seriously. "See your point I do, Padawan Jaina, but with Master Skywalker, the decision lies."

"Looks like we're about to find out now," Obi-Wan said.

Jaina turned around as another Republic gunship landed in the strip. Anakin hopped off, followed by Ahsoka. She had a relatively calm facade, but underneath, Jaina could sense her bubbling exhilaration. She was practically bouncing as she walked.

Jaina smiled and discreetly held a thumb up. Ahsoka grinned and mouthed, _Thanks_.

"Master Yoda," Anakin greeted, bowing. "Master Obi-Wan, Jaina."

"Master Skywalker," Jaina said, returning the bow.

"Trouble you've had, with your new Padawan, I hear," Yoda said.

"We were explaining the situation to Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said sheepishly when Anakin fixed him with a glare that was both questioning and slightly angry.

"Really?" Anakin said calmly.

"If not ready you are for the responsibility of a Padawan, then perhaps back to the Temple she should go..."

Anakin seemed to be thinking deeply, and struggling to keep his aggravation in check. "There are no problems, Master," he said. "Who could possibly make such a far-reaching judgement about a youngling's future in such a short time, anyway? That would be rash. Unfair, even. Ahsoka may be a little rough around the edges but with a great deal of training and patience, she might amount to something. It's our duty to nurture talent, and to support it."

Ahsoka's expression went from embarrassed, to nervous, to content. Jaina smiled at her again, sending some reassurance.

"Mature your judgement is becoming," Yoda replied with equal calm. If he felt any of the barbs in Anakin's comment, he didn't react to it. "Perhaps teach _you_ she will, as much as you teach her."

Anakin looked like he was working hard to bite back his retort. "I shall do my utmost, Master."

"Then go with you she will, to the Teth System."

"Teth? That's Wild Space, the droids army isn't even in that sector. Unless...has the fighting spread that far? I didn't think the Separatist army had any presence there."

"No army," Yoda said. "But kidnapped Jabba the Hutt's son has been."

Anakin flinched in disgust. "You want me to rescue a _Hutt_?"

"We need Jabba's backing to fight this war, Anakin" Obi-Wan said, diving in immediately as usual. "If we can't use Hutt-controlled routes, we can't fight in the Outer Rim. It's that simple. We need him to give us an advantage over Dooku."

"Negotiate with Jabba, Obi-Wan and his Padawan will. To rescue his son and find the renegades that hold him hostage, your mission will be, Skywalker," Yoda said.

"Hostage..."

"His baby son, Rotta."

"Come on, Master," Ahsoka said cheerfully. "It doesn't sound that hard. I'll find Rex, and get the troops organized."

Then she ran off, glad to have _some_ excuse to leave as soon as she realized the tension was no longer about her. Jaina remained unmoving behind her master.

"Don't worry, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "Just teach her everything I taught you, and she should be just fine."

Anakin scowled as he bowed and began walking away. "You know, something tells me that this was your idea from the start."

Jaina looked up at him questioningly, but Obi-Wan merely shrugged innocently, smiling.

"Let's just hope that Anakin's ready for this responsibility," Obi-Wan said as soon as Anakin was out of earshot.

"Ready he is, to teach an apprentice," Yoda said. "To let go of his apprentice, a greater challenge it will be."

Obi-Wan exhaled then bowed, Jaina following suit. "Well, if we're to make a deal with Jabba the Hutt, we'd better not keep him waiting," Obi-Wan said, putting a hand on Jaina's shoulder and walking towards his starfighter.

She followed, her own Jedi starfighter not far away from his. Jaina hopped in and immediately closed the cockpit canopy. She quickly went through the pre-flight check then her fighter lifted off the ground behind her masters, and shot into the sky.

* * *

Jaina stared outside her cockpit into space, thinking. There was a war raging on, and their mission was to negotiate with something that was thieving, greedy, and devoid of morals. Their mission was to negotiate with a _Hutt_?!

She let out a deep breath, trying to let her aggravation go. Surely Master Anakin and Ahsoka's rescue mission would have more excitement than _this_.

"Jaina," Obi-Wan murmured in exasperation. "I've said it once, I'll say it again: Anything can happen on a mission."

"I doubt anything will happen when we're negotiating with Jabba the Hutt," she said bitterly. "There could have been something else for us to do out there."

"The Council's orders are the Council's orders."

"I still think this is completely and irritatingly useless," Jaina remarked. "The Hutt's won't agree to anything unless it has some kind of benefit for them. And right now, we haven't got his son with us."

"Well, we've got to believe that his son will be rescued soon enough," he replied. "And it's our job to make sure that Jabba does too."

"They're despicable," she murmured to herself. "I really wish we'd been assigned something else."

Both starfighters went back into realspace and the flesh, desolate planet of Tatooine came into view.

"Well, you're not the only one," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. "I can't wait to get out of here too."

They descended into the atmosphere without another word. Not much was needed to be said with the environment below them being completely empty. Even with the coordinates sent to them, Jabba's palace was easily located. It was the only thing that wasn't made of rock and sand for miles.

Obi-Wan landed first, in the sand meters away from the palace. Jaina landed behind him and felt even more annoyed as she opened her cockpit to the heat. She sighed and lifted her hood over her head as she stepped out of her starfighter.

She and Obi-Wan exchanged a wary glance as the huge gate began to lift open. A protocol droid stepped out first, but was soon flanked by three intimidating Gamorreans.

"We should not keep the wise and powerful Jabba waiting," the droid said.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Obi-Wan said with a polite smile.

Jaina nervously glanced at all the strange creatures around them. The Gamorreans still kept an uncomfortably close proximity, their vibro-blades almost touching her master's shoulder.

Obi-Wan briefly smiled at her reassuringly but not even that could take her eyes off the dirty, ancient walls, the dark passageways leading to who-knows-where and the meer rats that crawled in and out of nearby holes.

Jabba's dancers immediately stood still when they entered the room and the murmures quieted down. That always happened when they walked in any place, her master had an air of power and of strength that always got everyone's attention.

The way he carried himself, the way his eyes intelligently surveyed the room and the impassive glance he gave everyone let them know that this was not a man to be messed with. It was times like these that Jaina felt so small next to him...

"Mighty Jabba, I've come to report personally on our efforts to find your son. One of our most powerful Jedi is on his way to rescue him," Obi-Wan said to Jabba in perfect Huttese. "We will not let you down."

Jaina stared at her master. She hadn't known that he spoke Huttese too, although now she suspected it was going to be difficult to find something he wouldn't be capable of.

Jabba gestured to his droid. TC-70 tipped a nearby crate over, spilling heads of the Bounty Hunters on the tiles. Most of them rolled out with sickening thumps. Jaina gasped, and it took all of her restraint not to pull a hand to her mouth. Her master didn't even flinch.

"_That_," said Jabba, "is what befell the last experts who were looking for my son."

Obi-Wan studied the heads impassively then raised an eyebrow. Was her master even shockable?

"I think our man will be harder to separate from his head," Jaina said wryly in Huttese. This was the first time she'd spoken.

"You'll find Rotta and return him to me," Jabba continued. "And there's an extra condition if the Republic wants free passage through my space lanes. Bring me the scum who's kidnapped my little punky muffin."

"Punky?" Obi-Wan and Jaina asked at the same time. Obi-Wan seemed amused, Jaina was questioning the Hutt's sanity.

"Dead or alive, Lord Jabba?" Jaina asked.

"Either," Jabba replied. "But alive would give me greater satisfaction, for reasons I probably don't need to explain to you."

"We understand, Lord Jabba," Obi-Wan said.

"See that you do," Jabba paused dramatically. "Because if you can't do the job, then Count Dooku and his droid army will."

Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed, and Jaina knew that her master was thinking and calculating all possible odds. "We'll do it."

"You have one planetary rotation to finish the job," Jabba continued. "A Tatooine rotation."

"It will be done, Lord Jabba," Obi-Wan said. "Now, in anticipation of that, may we discuss terms?"

Jabba glanced at his droid and Jaina almost flinched as she saw the slime and the fat his huge body contained. She remained impassive, determined to imitate her master's blank, calculating facade.

"We may."

* * *

"I had no idea you spoke Huttese, Master," Jaina remarked as she and Obi-Wan exited the palace to contact Anakin.

"Oh, quite fluently," Obi-Wan replied. "I can say the same about you, I never knew you spoke Huttese either."

"_Read_ Huttese," Jaina corrected with a sheepish smile. "That was the first time I've done any verbal work."

"You did a pretty good job for a first-timer," he said. "Might have mispronounced a few things, but practice makes perfect."

"I don't think I'll be practicing Huttese, Master," Jaina said, laughing.

"I was going to offer my help, but it appears I won't be needed," Obi-Wan said with a chuckle. "R4, contact Anakin," he said, once they'd reached the starfighters.

Anakin's hologram appeared atop one side of Obi-Wan's Jedi Interceptor, Ahsoka not far behind him.

"All right, Anakin, here's the story," Obi-Wan said. "Jabba has given us only one planetary rotation to get his son back home to Tatooine, safe and sound."

"Won't take us that long, Master," Anakin's hologram said with a half-smirk.

"Well, take extreme care," Obi-Wan said. "We have no idea who's holding Jabba's son. Jaina and I have finished negotiations with him. We'll be joining you soon."

The hologram faded away and Obi-Wan hopped back into his ship. Jaina stepped onto her wing and got in too. She closed the cockpit while performing pre-flight check at the same time. The sooner they got out of there, the better...

Both Interceptors lifted off the ground, sending dust in every direction. They reached the Tatooine atmosphere without further incident, and without another word.

* * *

Jaina and Obi-Wan entered in the rear hangar bay of their cruiser, landing in their usual spots. Obi-Wan stepped out first.

"Tell Admiral Yularen to get under way," he ordered Cody. "We need to reinforce Anakin."

"Yes, sir!" Cody snapped a salute and quickly walked out the hangar.

Jaina hopped out of her starfighter and stood behind her master.

"We discussed the battle plan on the way here, Padawan," Obi-Wan said. "Take temporary command of Blue Squadron. You know what to do, Jaina."

Jaina nodded soberly, already starting to walk towards the nearby group of clone pilots. "Yes, Master."

"And Padawan?"

"Master?" she turned around.

"_Temporary_ command," Obi-Wan emphasized. "I want my second-in-command back in our squadron for the next mission."

Jaina grinned. "Point made, Master. _Temporary_."

The clones saluted at Jaina as she stood in front of them. Being surrounded by this group of pilots made her feel even more short and petite.

"All right, boys, you know the drill," Jaina said, clasping her hands behind her back. "We're to reinforce General Skywalker on the Teth palace." She brought out a holographic map of the castle. "The cruisers and corvettes have enough firepower to delay the Sep starships and the heavy-freighters will descend with the gunships to slip in and deliver the reinforcements. When you've gotten past the Sep blockade, proceed directly to the rendezvous point, the coordinates will be sent to you. Vape as many droids as possible."

"Where will you be, Commander?" A pilot asked.

"Alongside all of you, sending the clankers to the bottom of Teth," Jaina replied with a grim smile. "And after, I'll be cleaning up the mess on the ground."

A few chuckles came from beneath the helmets and Jaina looked at them all. "Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" came a dozen replies.

"Good luck," Jaina said, saluting again. "May the Force be with you."

**A/N: A lot, lot, looot of dogfight action, droid action and lightsaber duel action coming in the next chapter :) I will say no more.**


	9. Dark Disciple

Chapter 8 - Dark Disciple

Jaina jumped back into her starfighter after a silent, wordless, but equally important goodbye with her master. Obi-Wan closed his cockpit and shot out of the hangar bay first, followed by his Red Squadron. Jaina flew out seconds later with her own Blues.

Teth seemed like a normal planet, at least from the sky. Her ship's scanning equipment showed that it had a temperature that wasn't too hot or too cold, and the humidity wasn't that far off either. The scanners began blinking and ringing loudly.

"Incoming ships!" She yelled into her comlink. "Blue Squadron, form up on me."

The starfighters in her squadron all flew into their tight V formation, with Jaina at the tip. The incoming vulture droids got closer and closer until Jaina could practically see each and every part that made it up. Her grip on the control yoke tightened and she squeezed the trigger as soon as she had them in range.

All ships in her squad did the same. Nine vulture droids disintegrated in a burst of blue flames. Blue Squadron continued flying in their formation, snap-rolling and destroying any ships that came in their path.

Jaina felt her heart beat rapidly as the first member of her squadron was lost to the droids, disappearing in a loud explosion that rocked her ship. This was the first casualty, and Jaina knew that it wouldn't be the last.

"I've got one on my tail!" Blue Seven's voice said in her comm. "I need backup, I can't shake him!"

"Stay in formation," Jaina instructed her squadron. She pulled up in a steep roll and was heading to the back of their V, on the right side. Seven was the last ship in their formation, and he was swerving madly from left to right, to dodge the shots fired by four nearby tri-fighters.

Jaina pulled up behind the droids, and as soon as they were locked in her targeting computer, she fired relentlessly at them. "Seven, pull up!" She called, destroying the first of the four.

Seven did as he was told and the three droids followed him. Jaina flew downwards, and then swerved upwards again, until she was facing the tiny space in between Seven and the droids. She fired again, and two more droids flew into her shower of blasterfire.

There was only one left, and it was too close to Seven so she couldn't repeat the maneuver. Jaina sped up to full throttle, until she was in front of Seven. She turned sharply, increasing her speed. "Seven, to the right!"

As soon as Seven was clear, Jaina sped forward, firing her lasers at the tri-fighter. It burst into flames and Jaina flew through the remains, snap-rolling. Her mouth quirked into a smile as she resumed her position at the tip of the V.

"Blue Squadron, split into groups of three," Jaina ordered. "One pilot, two wingmates. Form up on whoever is at the tip and stay as close to your triad as possible. Blue 1, 2, you're with me."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Jaina's squadron dispersed in every direction in their groups of three. She and her two wingmates continued with their original trajectory and flew forward. "Slingshot," Jaina said into the comlink. She slowed her speed down greatly, allowing her two wingmates to fly ahead. The two pilots closed in until they were next to each other and had hardly a meter in between them. They fired continuously at the wall of droid tri-fighters and vultures in front.

"_Mark_!" Jaina exclaimed. The two pilots separated and Jaina immediately sped to full throttle. She snap-rolled several times as she shot forward to prevent the droids from getting a lock on her. Jaina fired relentlessly with her lasers and as soon as she was meters away, she deployed her rockets.

All 4 of the tri-fighters burst into flames and Jaina flew through their remains, snap-rolling triumphantly. A blue light began blinking on both her wrist and her ship's comm unit. Jaina grinned, knowing what it meant.

"Blue Squadron, this is Commander Knightrunner," she said using the comm. "Blue 1 is in command of this squadron now; I have a mission to complete. It was good working with you, form up tightly, stay alert, vape clankers and may the Force be with you."

She switched to another channel. "Right behind you, Master."

Jaina descended towards the Teth monastery and saw her masters Delta-7 already on its way back without him in it. He was already down there. As they neared the ground, she spotted a blue lightsaber.

"R4, take over," Jaina told her trusted astromech.

A spider droid neared her master from behind, but he was still too busy with his front to notice. Jaina opened her cockpit anxiously.

She narrowed her eyes, jumped out of her ship and sliced the droid in half before it could have fired.

Obi-Wan spun around and looked at the remains. "Thanks."

"No problem, Master!" Jaina grinned and Force-pushed the remains of the droid away, using her other hand to deflect the incoming barrage with her lightsaber.

Obi-Wan Force-pushed a Super Battledroid back, forcing it to hit its smaller comrades. Jaina sliced a nearby droid and pulled a small grenade out of her belt pocket. She tossed the air then Force-pushed it at the nearest Spider droid.

She hopped on top of the ruins of the Spider droid to block the intense barrage. Obi-Wan was calmly walking forward, though his lightsaber was everywhere as usual, slashing droids down and deflecting every single bolt.

"Padawan, " he called, gesturing at a nearby crate that was labelled FUEL.

Jaina smiled and nodded, pulling another grenade from her belt. Obi-Wan Force-hurled the crate into the air towards the droids at the same time she Force-pushed the grenade at it.

The tiny detonator blew up, and the fuel made the explosion even bigger. Jaina raised a sleeve over her nose and mouth as she stepped back to the ground.

The droids decreased in number and Jaina and Obi-Wan were able to find Rex behind the ruins of a Republic Walker.

"Where's General Skywalker?!" Obi-Wan asked over the blasterfire.

"Last I heard, he was still in the castle, sir!" Rex replied.

Obi-Wan gestured at the entrance of the monastery with his lightsaber and Jaina nodded, following him inside.

She tightened her grip on her hilt, feeling an evil presence nearby. The darkness inside the palace was all-consuming, it engulfed even their lightsabers. Her breathing quickened when a pair of red lightsabers ignited right in front of them.

"Master Kenobi!" a menacing voice greeted. "Always chasing after Skywalker. How _predictable_."

"Anakin leaves quite a mess," her master replied. "Which always leads me to you."

"You're late though," the voice continued. "Hasn't anybody told you to never keep a lady waiting?"

Obi-Wan seemed politely interested. "Anakin stood you up then, _Ventress_?"

Now, Jaina saw _her_. Dooku's dark disciple, his skilled assassin. She was a tall, imposing woman with pale skin that was white as a flimsiplast, no hair and dark, mocking eyes. Jaina held her lightsaber protectively

"Consider me the rebound for killing Jedi," Ventress hissed. "_Take them_!" she barked at her pair of Super battledroids.

Jaina and Obi-Wan deflected the blasts easily, sending them ricocheting around the palace.

"And I see you brought your little Padawan along!" Ventress cackled. "_This _is the one I've heard so much about?! A child?! You Jedi must be desperate if you're sending _children_ into the war!"

Jaina scowled. "Can children do this?!" She walked forward lithely, still deflecting the bolts with the utmost ease, then she sliced them both in half in a swift motion.

Jaina was a meter away from Ventress and looked like she desperately wanted to take on Ventress herself.

"_Jaina!_" Obi-Wan said urgently.

"Master?" she replied, turning back. She felt a light breeze, and when she whirled around, Ventress was gone. "_Kriff_!"

"Don't do anything foolish," Obi-Wan reprimanded sternly, walking towards her with his lightsaber at the ready. "You must be wary of her, no underestimations. Here, they could mean the end."

"She's that terrifying?" Jaina asked wryly.

"Yes, she is," Obi-Wan said severely. "Padawan, if you will not take this seriously, I _will _send you back to Captain Rex outside, do you understand?"

Jaina nodded, her cheeks burning as the reality of the situation and the words that just came out of her mouth sunk in. "My apologies, Master. I'm ready."

Obi-Wan around the antechamber. "Ventress," he called. "We know you're here. There's no point in hiding. I feel your frustration. Let me guess, you're after Jabba's young son too."

Ventress yelled angrily and slashed at both of them as she jumped out from nearby.

Jaina took a step back on her left foot, trying not to let her shock at how strong Ventress was show on her face. She held her lightsaber vertically in front of her body, blocking one of Ventress's lightsabers while her master was blocking the other.

"You'll have to do better than that, my _darling_," Obi-Wan said soothingly. It was probably the closest thing to a taunt that Jaina was ever going to hear.

Ventress scowled deeply and backflipped, ripping part of her long, flowing skirt off. She Force-pushed it at them, and Jaina lifted a hand to push it back. Her vision was blocked by the cloth, and she lost sight of Ventress.

Jaina heard a loud, angry yell, and one red lightsaber pierced through the cloth, only inches away from Jaina's shoulder. She gasped and stepped back, raising her lightsaber to block the next slash.

Ventress was swinging at Jaina with one lighsaber while slashing at Obi-Wan with the other. She was talented at multitasking, Jaina would give her that...

Jaina diagonally slashed at Ventress's hip, but the swing was blocked by an elegant parry. Jaina had no doubt that it was Dooku that was teaching her, they had almost the same style.

"Let me guess, it's the dear Count that's instructing you," Jaina said with a sneer. "I recognize his style. Yours is just sloppier."

"Funny thing is," Ventress said, smirking, "I can say the same thing about you and your own feeble attempt to imitate your master."

Jaina glowered at her and swung her blade at Ventress's shoulder forcefully not noticing the disapproving glance Obi-Wan threw her way. Ventress crossed both her blades, forcing both Obi-Wan and Jaina's blades to cross too.

Jaina pulled hers away and somersaulted above Ventress's head, narrowly avoiding a deadly slice as she was in the air. She landed lightly and swung horizontally at Ventress's neck.

Ventress raised her blade vertically and easily blocked the swing, then she pushed Jaina away, causing her to almost lose her balance. Jaina continued slashing quickly, first at her right knee, then her left wrist and finally at right shoulder.

Ventress blocked all of these, and even the ones perfectly delivered by her master, and somehow managed to twirl her saber, flicking Obi-Wan's hilt away from his palm. Jaina gasped. There was a soft thump as it landed a few feet away.

"Well, now I'm impressed," Obi-Wan said politely.

Jaina backflipped until she was next to him, her lightsaber at the ready. This was going to be tough.

Jaina parried most of the slashes aimed for her and some of those aimed for her master, though he seemed fine just dodging them and jumping over them. He was even more flexible than she thought.

Jaina lifted her blade above her head to block a vertical slash that almost came her way. Ventress used the diversion to land a painful kick on her stomach that sent her flying towards a column.

The breath was knocked out of her lungs and Jaina felt a sharp pain at the back of her head as she hit the column. She clutched tightly at her stomach, her face tightly contorted with pain, her breathing quick and shallow. As she hit the marble, a swift flashback occurred to her of an event back at Christophsis...

_Then_, days, or was it weeks, ago, her master and Master Anakin had gone to the Separatist base to investigate on a possible leak on their Intel. This was before the second wave had hit, and Jaina had been left to investigate on a possible traitor amongst the clones. The traitor had been identified, but the whole ordeal had troubled them all.

She caught a glimpse that time of both her Master and Master Anakin pursuing this enigmatic figure in a hood that was holding two lightsabers. Everything just fell into place now, after what seemed like a lifetime had passed since the Battle of Christophsis. That figure must have been _Ventress_.

Obi-Wan anxiously glanced at her from meters away and snapped her out of her reverie, but he continued dodging the slashes with ease. Jaina pushed herself off the floor, now rubbing the aching back of her head gingerly.

"Now, you die..." Ventress hissed at Obi-Wan, readying her lightsaber for a stab at his head.

"Oh, no, you _don't_!" Jaina yelled, jumping in front of him and hitting the blade away while sending the strongest Force-push she could. Ventress flew back, but landed on her feet.

Obi-Wan used the temporary distraction to call his lightsaber back to his palm and he quickly laid a hand on Jaina's slightly trembling shoulder.

"Shall we continue?" he asked Ventress politely, pointing his blade at her.

"My pleasure, dear _Obi-Wan_," Ventress hissed.

Jaina scowled, supremely aggravated at this woman's antics. She swung at Ventress's knees fluidly, while her master slashed at her neck. Ventress hopped over Jaina's blade while using both of her own to hit away Obi-Wan's.

This was getting really _irritating_. Jaina swung an X in the air, aiming at Ventress's torso, but she parried both diagonal slashes by repeating them in the opposite direction, sending Jaina's blade an inch away from their original target.

Ventress kicked at her master, sending him back a few meters towards another column. Jaina felt her ire rise to the next level and she swung even faster, performing at least 5 slashes per second.

Obi-Wan was back in the fight now, twice as fast as Jaina was. In the midst of the duel, Jaina couldn't help but wish that one day, she'd be as fast and as graceful as him.

He was backflipping, somersaulting, slashing, parrying, slicing and blocking all over the place, in only a few seconds. It hardly seemed possible, but he was doing it.

He looked at her briefly, and somehow Jaina understood. She somersaulted to the balcony above them and at the same time, he jumped from one column, to the next then to balcony too.

Ventress followed, and for long seconds, the three of them just stared, _glared_, at each other.

Jaina stood behind her master, catching her breath. "We know of Dooku's plot to turn the Hutts against us," she snarled. "To alienate Jabba from the Republic."

"It will not succeed," Obi-Wan said coldly. "Jabba _will_ know the truth."

"There you go again," Ventress barked. "Jedi truth or _real _truth? The Jedi variety is a flexible commodity."

"Even if you kill me," Obi-Wan said, and Jaina shivered, "Dooku will be exposed."

"Either truth will die with you!" Ventress held her lightsabers vertically, and landed one strong blow on both of them, before backflipping meters away.

Obi-Wan gestured at a nearby window with his lightsaber and Jaina jumped through it, with him not far behind. They were on the roof of the monastery now, and another jump would be absolutely fatal and completely _stupid_.

Ventress burst through the window, seconds later.

Jaina narrowed her eyes and watched her warily.

"You haven't seen your protégé's award-winning performance on holovid yet..." Ventress murmured.

"I'm sure he was magnificent," Obi-Wan replied evenly. "But there is one little snag."

"Go on," Ventress hissed. "The only way I'm going to shut you up is by taking your head or your precious Padawan's head off. I'll let you two have your last moment on stage."

Obi-Wan looked up at the sky. "Feel it?"

Ventress scowled, taking a moment to concentrate. Realization dawned upon her and she pulled out a comlink. "Air Control. Report! We're the freighter?!"

Jaina heard the droids' quick, desperate excuses and couldn't help but grin.

"Master Anakin's gone," Jaina said smugly. "He's on his way to Tatooine with Jabba's son."

"You've failed, Ventress," Obi-Wan said loudly. "You've lost. Dooku won't be very pleased with you."

Ventress yelled angrily and began slashing and slicing quickly, even swifter than before. Jaina felt the sweat begin to roll down her brow and it took every last bit of her energy to concentrate fully on keeping herself alive.

"If you'd stopped admiring yourself long enough to learn anything about me, _Obi-Wan_, you'd know this," Ventress said harshly, "I don't give up easily. And I always have a plan."

"Lay down your weapons," Obi-Wan ordered. "Surrender!"

Ventress subtly pressed a hidden button on her wrist before she came back at them with her lightsaber raised. All three of them stood toe to toe, Ventress at an uncomfortably close proximity in front of them, and Jaina next to her master, a centimeter away from bumping his shoulder.

They could hear a vulture approaching and a sly smile crept onto Ventress's face. "Not yet," she snarled. "In fact, never!"

Ventress grabbed Jaina's free wrist. She shoved Jaina off the roof along with her as she jumped. Ventress landed on a vulture droid that had come to pick her up and flew away, cackling menacingly.

"_OOOH!_" Jaina's heart leapt out of her chest as she fell over the edge. She shut her eyes and held on tightly to the monastery's roof shingles with her one hand. She raised the other one and grasped tightly too, immediately regretting that she looked down. "Oh, jeez, that's _high_!"

Her breathing came in harsh, quick gasps as she struggled to hold on and refused to look down at the sea of clouds beneath her.

"_Jaina_!" Obi-Wan called, that rare touch of fear reaching his voice. He extended a hand towards her. "Grab my hand!"

Jaina shut her eyes again, her fingers burning. "I can't! If I let go, I'll fall! I'm not strong enough!"

"Padawan, listen to me! You won't fall!" He exclaimed. "Grab my hand, _trust me_!"

Jaina felt as though her hands were being ripped apart, finger by finger, but she let one hand go and reached up slowly and painfully. Obi-Wan grasped her arm firmly and pulled her up as though she weighed about as much as his wrist comlink.

Jaina used her legs to propel herself up too and ended up sprawled on the roof, breathing heavily. Obi-Wan didn't seem to have broken a sweat. This was so unfair, she thought, almost smiling. "Thanks, Master."

"Are you all right, Jaina?" he asked, tearing his gaze away from the spot where Ventress disappeared and looking down at her.

Jaina stood up shakily. "Yeah. Just need to catch my breath."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Jaina, I never would have let you fall."

* * *

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I was pretty nervous about writing this since it's crucial in this part of the story and this is the first lightsaber duel (you have my word that it certainly won't be the last!) and the first dogfight that appears in the fic. Please tell me what you think, leave me a review, I'll update soon, and may the Force be with you :)**


	10. Reunion

Chapter 9 - Reunion

Jaina and Obi-Wan jogged out of the monastery towards the dying blasterfire. The remaining clones were shooting at the droids and when Jaina glanced at the sky, she saw most of the Separatist warships retreating.

Their cruisers were bearing on the Seps, this battle was already practically won. All that was left to do was to clean up the mess.

"Captain," Obi-Wan called to Rex, deflecting stray blaster bolts, "I understand General Skywalker escaped."

Jaina ignited her lightsaber again and blocked all the incoming shots. Exhaustion brought about by the previous long days finally began to sink in. Her legs were aching, her head was throbbing and all she wanted to do was rest.

"Yes, sir," Rex replied, jerking his head to the right and narrowly missing a bolt. "On some beat up old space freighter. I'd be surprised if he even makes it to Tatooine in that junker!"

"If anyone can fly a bucket of bolts through hyperspace," Jaina said, sending a shot back at a droid, "it's Master Anakin."

* * *

Jaina stood near the edge of the monastery looking as though she was casually measuring the distance down. She had no idea what time it was but she vaguely guessed that it was the middle of the night.

The clones were all disposing the droids' remains inside and outside the palace and her master was somewhere else, she realized with a jolt that she didn't know where. Was she _that_ tired?

"Jaina," Obi-Wan called from behind.

Oh. There he was. Jaina smiled and walked over to him.

"Time to see how Anakin's doing," he murmured, heading to his starfighter.

Jaina stood next to him as two small holograms of Anakin and Ahsoka were projected by his R4 unit atop his Interceptor's wing.

"Anakin, have you reached Tatooine yet?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Almost there," Anakin replied. "We, uh, ran into some old friends."

"Master Anakin, did you get shot down again?" Jaina asked, perfecting an Obi-Wan stance with her hands on her hips and her eyebrow arched. Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Yes," Ahsoka's hologram said cheerfully.

"This ship is too slow!" Anakin protested. "I haven't had time to modify it yet."

"Jaina and I are still cleaning up your other mess," Obi-Wan said disapprovingly. "But we'll get there."

R4 beeped again and as soon as the hologram of Anakin and Ahsoka disappeared, a new hologram of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and Master Yoda materialized in front of them.

Jaina's eyes widened and she hastily took half a step back behind her master. She and Obi-Wan bowed.

"Anakin has reached Tatooine with the Huttlet, Master," Obi-Wan said. "But he's still in grave danger. Separatist troops are desperate to intercept him. I've just received a message that Jabba's son is alive and well, in spite of the attacks."

Yoda had a grim expression on his face and Palpatine's was calculating.

"Permission to speak, Master?" Jaina asked timidly. She rarely said anything at important meetings like this unless she was adding details to a report. Obi-Wan nodded. "I'm pretty convinced that this whole kidnapping plot was engineered by Dooku to frame the Republic and alienate the Hutts by making Jabba believe that we're the ones holding his son hostage."

"I agree," Obi-Wan said. "My Padawan is right."

"Although Commander Knightrunner makes an excellent point, the question is, will Jabba believe Dooku?" Palpatine murmured, slowly shaking his head. "He's not the most trusting of beings, even for a Hutt, but if he were to actually listen to Dooku, that would be a disaster."

"If believe this, the Hutts do, ended is our hope of a treaty with them," Yoda said with a frown. "Join Dooku and the Separatists Jabba will, yes."

"We can't allow that to happen," Obi-Wan said.

"We must have this alliance with the Hutts if we are to win the war in the Outer Rim," Palpatine added.

"In Skywalker, is the Republic's only hope. Return Jabba's son personally, he must."

"As ever Master Yoda, you summarize the dilemma perfectly," Palpatine said. "General Kenobi, is Skywalker up to this task? I know he's an excellent soldier, but this is verging on a diplomatic assignment."

"He'll come through," Obi-Wan said, nodding his head empathically. "Don't worry. Anakin has more experience in dealing with Hutts than most of us. That should help."

"If anyone can placate Jabba and get him on our side, he can," Jaina added.

Obi-Wan and Jaina bowed again. "Kenobi out," Obi-Wan said, cutting the hologram. He turned to Rex, standing a few meters away. "Get the troops back aboard the _Integrity_. We're going to Tatooine."

* * *

Jaina sat down on her bunk inside the room she shared with her master aboard the _Integrity_. He was on his own bunk perpendicular to hers and already in deep meditation.

She unwrapped a ration bar and sniffed it eagerly, hardly remembering the last time she ate. Everyone else aboard the ship was probably asleep, for it was almost dawn, or something like that, she lost track of time.

Jaina hated this part of a battle: the _aftermath_. It was when the adrenaline rush would die down and the gravity of everything would sink in. It always made her feel so tired.

"If you're that restless, you should meditate, Padawan," Obi-Wan murmured, opening his eyes.

"I'm not restless, just thinking," Jaina replied.

"You did well today," he said after a while. "With Ventress, I mean."

"I did?"

"You were really angry at first, that was obvious," he said wryly. "But you controlled it eventually."

"I was only angry because she was so irritating," Jaina admitted.

"Yes, she has proven to be a nuisance for us," Obi-Wan said.

"That's an understatement," Jaina remarked. "First on Yavin, then on Christophsis and now on Teth. She's everywhere."

"I know that's not the last time we'll be meeting her," Obi-Wan said with a sigh.

"We sure are gathering quite the number of enemies," she said dryly. "First Durge, now Ventress? Next thing we know, Grievous and Dooku will be after us."

"In all seriousness, I really hope you don't have to encounter either of those two," he said. "If Ventress was difficult, Dooku is a whole other story."

"If we do come across them, I'm not going anywhere, Master," Jaina said firmly. "So you should hope that we _both _don't encounter them."

Obi-Wan sighed again. "Somehow I doubt they'll neglect us, Jaina."

"I'd better practice sparring more often then," Jaina said with a resigned smile that held all the optimism she could muster. She tossed the empty wrapper of her ration bar into the trash bin.

Obi-Wan's comlink beeped. "Yes, Admiral?"

"We've reached Tatooine's orbit, General Kenobi," Yularen said. "Master Yoda's shuttle has just landed in the hangar bay."

"Master Yoda's here…?" Jaina asked questioningly.

"We'll be right there," Obi-Wan said, standing up and cutting the connection. "Come on."

Jaina hopped off her bunk, slipping her boots on and followed Obi-Wan down the ship's hallway and into the hangar bay. Cody and a squad of ARCs were already inside a gunship, and Master Yoda was walking towards them. Jaina and Obi-Wan bowed.

"Master Yoda," Obi-Wan greeted.

"Good to see you both, it is," Yoda said.

"Yes, it's good to you see you too," Obi-Wan said as the walked into the gunship. It lifted out of the hangar bay, and Obi-Wan and Yoda started talking about the encounter with Ventress. Jaina would occasionally add a comment or a detail missed, but was relatively silent throughout the short journey.

The gunship landed and Jaina immediately caught sight of Anakin and Ahsoka. Obi-Wan and Yoda hadn't acknowledged the pair's arrival yet. Nearby, at the entrance of the palace, Jaina spotted Jabba with his Huttlet son, Rotta, in his arms.

"So, how'd it go?" Jaina asked.

"As despicable as negotiating with Hutts can go," Anakin replied bitterly. "How many?"

Jaina fidgeted uncomfortably. "Five," she said softly.

"Five dead?" Ahsoka asked. "That's not so bad."

"No…" Jaina sighed and looked up at Anakin since she couldn't bear to meet Ahsoka's wide eyes. "Five _alive_. Including Captain Rex."

Anakin looked painfully shocked first, then Jaina caught a flash of rage, then he returned to his perfectly expressionless façade. Ahsoka was horrified. "Oh," she said in a quiet voice. "Oh my. The men I was talking to in the hangar…?"

"I'm sorry," Jaina murmured.

Anakin nodded stiffly. "It happens. I'll ask Rex for all their names. They may be clones, but it matters to me."

"And me," Ahsoka said.

"Master Skywalker," Yoda greeted. "Thank you, the Republic does for your efforts and for your victory."

Anakin nodded again. "It was our pleasure, Master Yoda. What are we to do now?"

"Assigned your fleet is, to the Bith System," Yoda said.

"You are to leave immediately," Obi-Wan said.

Jaina felt the gunship land back in the _Integrity_'s hangar bay and Anakin bowed briefly. "Any specific orders?"

"We have intelligence that the CIS intends to attack there next," Obi-Wan said. "The coordinates have been sent to Admiral Yularen. Just protect the staging area."

"Where are you going, Master?" Anakin asked, stepping off the gunship.

"Jaina and I are going back to the Temple at least just for now," Obi-Wan replied. "Some matters need our attention. The Separatists have this new 'mystery weapon'. It's been destroying fleet by fleet. But we'll be seeing you two soon, don't doubt that."

Anakin let out a half-smile and bowed again. "Until then, Masters. Come on, Snips."

Ahsoka waved discreetly at Jaina, who smiled in return, then trotted to join Anakin. They entered another gunship then flew out the hangar bay to the next cruiser. Master Yoda walked up the ramp of his shuttle.

"Have a diplomatic mission I do, to the Toydaria system," he said.

"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan said, as he and Jaina bowed.

"And with you," Yoda nodded and the landing ramp closed. Master Yoda's shuttle lifted off the ground and burst out the hangar bay, leaving Jaina to feel slightly dissatisfied.

Here was that feeling again, when the adrenaline rush died down and she realized that there was nothing left to do. She was bursting with energy, she still had the intense memories of the recent battles fresh in her mind.

Jaina was utterly exhausted, she hadn't slept or eaten properly in days, yet she felt the adrenaline swiftly pumping through her veins.

"Come on, Jaina," Obi-Wan said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We're standing in the middle of the hangar bay."

She fell into step behind him, walking towards the bridge. "Hey, Master?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't we have nicknames?"

"Beg your pardon?" Obi-Wan looked at her, half confused, half bursting out in laughter.

"You know how Master Anakin calls Ahsoka 'Snips' and she calls him 'Skyguy.' Why don't we have nicknames?"

"You want a nickname?" he asked. "You already have one!"

"I do?"

"I call you 'Padawan', don't I?" he asked, chuckling.

"That doesn't count!" Jaina giggled.

"Okay, so you'd prefer something like 'kiddo' or 'squirt' or 'JJ' then?" Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow. "I like JJ."

"Never mind, I think 'Padawan' is fine," Jaina said quickly, wincing.

"All right, then," Obi-Wan laughed. "Come on, time to get to the bridge, shortie."

"Hey, I am not short!" Jaina exclaimed, laughing. "You know, you're right, I think we should stick with 'Padawan'."

* * *

Days later, Jaina stood next to her master in one of the Temple's many briefing rooms. This was another one of those really important conferences that made her feel so nervous.

"This mystery weapon has struck in a dozen places," Mace Windu was saying.

Jaina smiled and greeted Ahsoka and Anakin with a nod. She felt so stiff, but remaining unmoving was important at meetings like this.

"Hasn't Clone Intelligence reported that they don't leave any survivors?" Palpatine said.

"The Separatists are being unusually tidy," Obi-Wan mused.

"They don't want any witnesses," Jaina added softly.

"There have been no remains of the fleet," Anakin said. "It's been reported that Master Koon's fleet has been…" he hesitated, glancing at Ahsoka. "Has been destroyed."

"All our battle groups will be reassigned to the convoy," Mace Windu said. "Including yours, Skywalker."

"Wait!" Ahsoka cried. "Just because there haven't been any survivors before, doesn't mean that there won't be any this time!"

Jaina's eyes widened. Ahsoka was either very brave to speak up like that, or very stupid. Jaina mouthed her name, shooting her a warning glare. Speaking like that in a meeting like this was the worst idea possible.

"Boldly spoken for one so young," Palpatine remarked.

"She is learning from Anakin," Obi-Wan said amusedly.

"Please excuse my Padawan," Anakin said coldly. Jaina almost grimaced. "We will deploy, as you have instructed, Masters."

Anakin's hologram faded and Jaina and Obi-Wan bowed, cutting their connection too.

They walked out the briefing room, Jaina almost bumping into Gaspard as he ran down the hallway.

"Hah, now it's your fault, I wasn't the one running this time," Jaina said with a grin.

"I didn't make you fall, did I?" Gaspard asked, raising his eyebrows innocently.

"It's not my fault you've got worst balance in the universe!" Jaina exclaimed, laughing. "I'll catch up with you later, Master."

Obi-Wan smiled and nodded, walking down the corridor.

"Speak for yourself," Gaspard said, snickering. "Hey, I have to go. Now we're the ones with the mission."

"Stang, I just got back," Jaina said, disheartened. "I hardly see anyone anymore."

"Hey, I'll be back in a few days," he said. "Should be uneventful."

"All right, just be careful," she said.

"Always am," Gaspard said, with another crooked grin. He momentarily gave her a hug. "I'll see you when you get back."

"Gaspard?" Jaina called, as he walked away. She smiled, remembering the same words she was about to say being spoken to her only days ago. "Just make sure you do come back."

* * *

The next morning, Jaina walked into the cafeteria and grabbed a tray with a bowl of soup and a glass of water. She approached the table with Callista and Ximea but stopped when she caught Callista's glare and her smirk.

"Hey, _Ximea_," she said loudly, intentionally choosing to ignore her.

Jaina rolled her eyes but felt her anger evaporate when she spotted a familiar face sitting at the next table. "Morning, Master," she greeted, sitting down across Obi-Wan at the table next to Ximea's and Callista's.

He looked up from a datapad and smiled. "Morning, Jaina. I heard about Garen and his Padawan's departure. Should be nothing to worry about, it's supposed to be a small diplomatic mission and they'll be back soon."

"That's great!" Jaina beamed.

"Why isn't she eating with us?" Ximea whispered to Callista from the next table. Jaina winced.

"I don't know," Callista murmured back, and Jaina could practically see her smirk. "Maybe she'd rather spend her meals with _masters _instead of us now."

Jaina scowled. Callista just had to make everything more complicated than it needed to be.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, overhearing the conversation to Jaina's dismay. "Jaina," he said gently. "Why aren't you sitting with your friends?"

"I am," she said innocently. "_You're _my friend, aren't you?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he said wryly.

"What if I just want to spend more time with you or something?"

"We already spend practically every waking minute together on missions," Obi-Wan said, chuckling. "You're bound to get sick of me soon. How much more time do you want?"

"Maybe just a bit more," Jaina said, grinning sheepishly.

"Poor excuse, my young Padawan," he said, smiling.

"Does it really bother you that much if I sit with you?" Jaina asked.

"No, of course not, Padawan, it doesn't," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "I enjoy spending time with you too and you make my meals more..._entertaining_."

Jaina wrinkled her nose.

"But you know how we leave on short notice, I just think you need to spend as much time with your friends as possible. We could be sent back into the field sooner than you think."

"Excuse me, Master Kenobi," a Knight said, approaching their table.

"See what I mean?" Obi-Wan murmured to her. "Yes, can I help you?"

"We've received word that Master Skywalker did not rendezvous with the rest of the convoy."

"What?" Jaina asked. "His fleet's not there? That's a huge disadvantage."

"His fleet's there," the Knight said. "He's just not with it."

Obi-Wan stood. "Come on, squirt, we need to contact Anakin and see what he's got up his sleeve this time."

"I didn't get any desert yet…" Jaina followed him to the communications room, growling. "And I thought we agreed that nicknames just aren't a good idea…?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait! Stresses of life and stuff :| Here's the next chapter! Read, review and enjoy please!**


	11. Malevolent Encounter

Chapter 10 - Malevolent Encounter

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said exasperatedly. They were standing in one of the Temple's most secluded communications cubicles, out of earshot from anyone that may have been listening. "Where are you?"

"Oh. Hello, Master! Uh, we made a quick stop at the Abregado system," Anakin said sheepishly.

"You had other orders," Jaina stated.

"It was my idea, Master Kenobi," Ahsoka said.

"Oh, I'm sure," Obi-Wan said, sighing. "Well, have you found any survivors?"

"No, you were right," Anakin said. "The Separatists don't want to leave any witnesses."

"All the more reason for you to rejoin the defensive escorts," Jaina urged.

"We need you, Anakin. You're going to miss the rendezvous if you don't hurry," Obi-Wan said.

"I know, Master. We're on our way," Anakin said, and the hologram faded.

Obi-Wan turned to Jaina and she looked back at him questioningly. "You have a few minutes to say goodbye to your friends," he said. "Looks like we're leaving again. The Council will want someone taking Anakin's place with the escorts."

"I just need a few minutes to grab my pack," Jaina said. "As of right now, I don't think I have any friends who'd care if I bade them goodbye or not."

* * *

Jaina walked down the bridge of the Integrity over to her master and inclined her head. "The fleet is in position, Master."

Obi-Wan turned to the commanding officer and nodded. "Get the fleet into hyperspace on my mark. The convoy is waiting."

The officer nodded and the dozens of ships following burst into hyperspace. The stars elongated and their cruiser went into lightspeed.

"General Kenobi," a communications officer said from one of the pits, "transmission from the Galactic Senate."

"Patch it through," Obi-Wan said.

Life-size holograms of Masters Windu and Yoda, and Chancellor Palpatine appeared on the bridge. After short greetings, the conference began without pre-empt

"We must find a way to destroy this mystery weapon," Master Windu said.

"In this war, a step ahead of us, Dooku always seems," Yoda added.

"Tell me," Palpatine said. "Has there been any word from Master Plo Koon or his fleet?"

"No," Windu said with a sigh. "We must fear the worst"

Obi-Wan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Actually, I just received word that Anakin has found the remains of Master Plo's fleet and is searching the debris for survivors."

"On whose authority has he done this?" Palpatine asked.

"His own, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan replied.

"With his fleet out of position we are left vulnerable," Windu said, a trace of irritation reaching his voice.

"Oh, his fleet is right where it should be," Obi-Wan said quickly.

"He's taken only a small freighter, the _Twilight_, Masters," Jaina said. "And his Padawan."

"Hmm. Twice the trouble they have become," Yoda said, shaking his head. "A reckless decision, Skywalker has made."

" Let us hope that it wasn't a costly one," Palpatine said.

Jaina and Obi-Wan bowed again and cut the transmission. "We're coming out of hyperspace," the commander said.

The cruiser slowed down, and soon Jaina caught sight of probably fifty other ships. Corvettes, freighters, frigates, starfighter squadrons all in an organized formation.

"Now, what do we do?" Jaina asked, looking up at Obi-Wan.

"Now, we wait."

* * *

Several uneventful days later, Jaina stood in front of the viewport, aching for something to do. This was getting stupid, waiting here while others were fighting and dying elsewhere. There was nothing she hated more than not doing anything.

"Patience, Padawan," Obi-Wan remarked behind her. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a trace of a smile on his bearded face. "You're bursting with energy."

"Yes, I am, and there's nothing to do," Jaina said bitterly. "I don't like just waiting."

He nodded towards Cody, approaching them. "I have a feeling we won't be waiting with the convoy for much longer."

"General Kenobi, we've received intelligence that the _Malevolence_ is on its way to the Kaliida Shoals Medical Center," Commander Cody said, stepping on to the bridge. "They've already attacked several medical supply convoys, and they're making their way to the Station."

"Typical," Jaina spat. "Aiming for the defenseless. The Kaliida Shoals nebula is near Naboo, isn't it, Master?"

"Yes, it's near Naboo," Obi-Wan said, bringing a hand to his beard. "We need to get them reinforcements but travelling there is not easy with the nebula. Jaina, I want you to contact the Naboo, raise the Advisory Council if you can. Get reinforcements. Cody, I need to speak with Admiral Yularen. We need to organize a defense force for that station."

"Yes, sir," Cody said, walking to a comm station.

Jaina bowed and hurried into the conference room with the circular table and the holoprojector. She ordered the officer in the room to contact Theed Palace and eventually, the hologram of a Nubian security officer appeared on top of the table.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"This is Commander Jaina Knightrunner of the Republic Open Circle Fleet. I need to speak with the Advisory Council. There is a matter with the utmost importance that needs to be discussed. I'm sending my authorization codes now."

She pressed a few buttons and sent the codes. The officer nodded and moments later, a man with long, white hair and a white beard emerged in front of her. Jaina took her Galactic Politics classes seriously back at the Temple and was therefore able to recognize this man immediately.

"Governor Bibble," Jaina said, bowing. "I'm Jedi Commander Jaina Knightrunner of the Open Circle Fleet. I apologize for the disruption, but I'm afraid a dilemma has arisen that requires the aid of your people. The Kaliida Shoals Medical Station is in grave danger. General Grievous has proven a great threat and we have received intelligence that the medical center near the nebula is his next target. The inhabitants of the station are all defenseless and majority of the population are injured. We're requesting for reinforcements, at least until this fleet can get there."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to consult the Queen before we can take any plan of action, Commander Knightrunner," the Governor replied. "Rest assured, we will try our best to get reinforcements to the Medical Station as soon as possible."

"Their time is limited, Governor," Jaina said. "I urge you to take action swiftly."

"We do not take the lives aboard that Station lightly," he said. "The Queen values every life. You can expect support ships to arrive there shortly."

"Thank you for your great assistance, Governor Bibble," Jaina said bowing. "If it's not too much, please pass our gratitude on to the Queen."

"I will, Commander," he said, nodding. "May the Force be with you."

Jaina smiled. "And with you."

She cut the connection and made her way back to the bridge where her Cody and her master where conversing. Jaina inclined her head at them both and reported.

"The Naboo are sending support ships to assist the Medical Station. I've spoken to Governor Bibble and he's passing on our request to the Queen."

Obi-Wan nodded and turned to Cody. "Contact the Medical Station."

He nodded and gestured to one of the officers. A life-size hologram of a tall, slim Kaminoan materialized in front of them.

"Nala Se, I only just received word," Obi-Wan said to the Kaminoan. "We've contacted the Naboo. They've sent ships to help you. And I am on my way as well."

"Thank you, Master Jedi," Nala Se said, bowing.

Obi-Wan bowed too and the hologram disappeared.

"General Kenobi, General Skywalker's fleet has just entered the system," the Republic officer in charge reported. "They're releasing a squadron of Y-Wing bombers. Admiral Yularen reports that they're sending Shadow Squadron through a shortcut to intercept Grievous."

Jaina quirked her mouth in a half-smile. "I bet it's Master Anakin's shortcut."

Obi-Wan put a hand to his forehead and said to the officer, "Please raise General Skywalker."

"Master?" Anakin's voice echoed in the bridge minutes later.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"Well, If I don't, I won't be around to hear the 'I told you so'," Anakin retorted.

"That's reassuring," Jaina said wryly.

"Well, take your shortcut," Obi-Wan said. "I'll take the long way. But you better be there before I arrive."

"I'll be there, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, cutting the connection.

Obi-Wan turned to the officer. "I want two of the warships to accompany us to the Station. The rest of the fleet are to remain with the convoy."

"General Kenobi, Admiral Yularen wishes to speak with you," Commander Cody said.

Obi-Wan nodded. "Patch him through."

Yularen appeared on one of the comm screens in the bridge and began his report quickly. "The Medical Station reports Fifty percent of the patients have been evacuated," he said.

"That's not good enough," Jaina murmured.

"They'll never be finished before the enemy arrives," Obi-Wan said.

"General Skywalker still has a chance to catch Grievous," Yularen remarked.

"If he does," Obi-Wan said. "We'll have to be ready."

* * *

The _Integrity_ came out of hyperspace into a huge battle and Jaina's eyes widened at the sight of the ruined _Malevolence_, ablaze and caught between vulture droids and Anakin's starfighters.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called from the bridge into the comm.. "Do you copy?"

"I'm here, Master," Anakin replied, his voice echoing in the room.

"Congratulations," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "It looks like your mission was a success."

"Partially," he replied heavily. "But Grievous is still alive and the battle was pretty rough on my men."

"We'll take it from here," Obi-Wan said. "But don't worry, we'll call when we need you."

"I'll be waiting, Obi-Wan," Anakin said, and he cut the link.

"All right, let's finish what Anakin started," her master said to everyone in the bridge. He nodded at Jaina.

"Ahead full!" she ordered, half a smile on her face.

Officers began yelling orders in the bridge and the three warships zoomed forward. A few of the thrusters of the _Malevolence _burst into flames and it slowed down even more.

"This is too easy," Jaina said to herself, grinning.

"It's not over yet, my Padawan," Obi-Wan murmured.

"General Kenobi," Cody said, saluting. "Hangar bay deck officers report that General Skywalker and General Koon have docked."

"Jaina, see them to the bridge," Obi-Wan said, turning to her. "Inform them of the situation."

"Yes, Master," she replied, inclining her head and walking down the bridge. She jogged down the stairs and into a lift tube, then slowed her pace as she reached the hangar bay where Anakin and Master Plo stood, Ahsoka behind them.

Jaina saluted. "Masters, welcome aboard the _Integrity_. Master Kenobi wished for me to inform you of our current situation, he awaits you on the bridge."

Anakin laughed. "I think you've been hanging around Obi-Wan for too long, Jaina. All this formality is makes you look forty, not fourteen."

Jaina frowned first, before a grin spread on her face. "Very funny, Master Anakin. I'll try to stop then, shall I?"

Anakin shrugged. "That might be a good idea."

"I can do that," Jaina said, following them down the hallway and up the turbolift. "Four of the _Malevolence_'s thrusters have been set ablaze, both its primary and secondary weapons have been shut down and it's speed is slowly and steadily decreasing.."

"We have him now," Anakin said, half a smirk on his face, as they ascended the stairs to the bridge.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan greeted with a smile. "Master Plo, it's good to see you."

The silent Jedi Master nodded. "And you, Master Kenobi."

Jaina took a few steps back from the Jedi Masters and stood next to Ahsoka. "I haven't seen you in a while," she remarked. "How are you liking life as a Padawan?"

"It's all right, I guess," she said, shrugging. "It's just a little harder than I originally thought."

Jaina laughed. "I think Master Anakin's making it tough on purpose."

"I don't doubt that," Ahsoka said, laughing. "It's not just him though, it's everything. But I guess this is all just one big learning experience."

"It gets easier, eventually," Jaina said. "Kind of. Sometimes it gets harder too."

"That's reassuring," Ahsoka said, wrinkling her nose.

"Nah, you'll be fine," she said, waving a hand. "You're with Master Anakin, of course you'll be fine."

"So will you, you're with Master Kenobi."

"I'm me," Jaina said jokingly. "Of course I'll be fine, Snippy."

She walked towards the masters with a slight smile on her face at Ahsoka's open-mouthed expression. Master Anakin was now in a nearby communications console, speaking rapidly into the headset.

"Commander, what is the damage level to the enemy ship?" Obi-Wan asked, turning to Cody.

"She's lost her primary shield and stabilizers, sir. But the ship is so massive, it can take all the firepower our cannons can give it," Cody replied.

"We must summon reinforcements," Master Plo said.

"That's why I'm here, Master Plo," Anakin said, standing up from the console.

"Where you able to contact Master Luminara?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, Master. She's busy with a fleet of Separatist reinforcements nearby. She won't be able to give us support until she's turned them away," Anakin replied.

"Then we'll have to make do with what we have," Jaina murmured.

Obi-Wan turned to Yularen. "Admiral, status report?"

"The _Malevolence _is not attempting to jump into hyperspace," Yularen replied. "Their hyperdrive must be damaged."

"This is our chance," Obi-Wan said. "All ships, target the bridge. Maximum fire power!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ahsoka exclaimed, sitting down by another console. "Master, I'm picking up a signal near the enemy vessel. Something just came out of hyperspace."

"Enemy reinforcements?" Anakin asked.

"No," Ahsoka frowned. "It looks like a Naboo skiff."

"Gunners, stand down!" Obi-Wan ordered "What in the blazers are they doing out here?!"

"The Naboo should have left half an hour ago," Jaina said, putting her hands up. "I only asked them to stay until we got here."

"Ahsoka, contact that ship!" Anakin said.

"Naboo ship, identify yourself." She said into the comm unit.

"This is Senator Amidala," a frantic voice said from the console. An instant later, a hologram appeared of the petite, brown-haired senator.

"_PADME_?!" Anakin cried. Jaina flinched. "Padmé, What are you doing out here?!"

"I was sent on a special mission!" the Senator explained. "The Senate was told the Banking Clan wanted to negotiate a treaty!"

"Get out of there as fast as you can!" Anakin exclaimed. The hologram shook violently and flickered. "Padmé, what's happening?"

"I'm being pulled inside the droid cruiser by a tractor beam!" Senator Amidala exclaimed anxiously. "I will not be made into a Separatist bargaining chip!_ Continue your attack!_ You must destroy this monstrous ship!"

The hologram faded and Anakin's hands clenched to fists at his sides. Jaina watched him apprehensively, glancing at Ahsoka's equally worried face.

"Admiral…" Anakin murmured, struggling. "Order the ships to stop firing."

Yularen nodded, passing on the order to the commanders. Everyone stared at Anakin, Jaina and Ahsoka with shock, Obi-Wan with concentrated calculation. Anakin turned and walked away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Obi-Wan asked, following him.

"Somebody has to save her skin," Anakin said, shrugging.

"Come on, Padawan," Obi-Wan smiled, gesturing for Jaina to accompany them. "Anakin, I thought you might say that."

* * *

**A/N: Here's that new chapter, sorry for the long wait. Not much happened in this chapter, but the next one is going to be a lot more interesting :] I worked hard on making the transitions between the three episodes of the Malevolence trilogy short and smooth, I hope it did not end up too brief.**

**Read and enjoy, reviews are always appreciated :] May the Force be with you**


	12. Fear

Chapter 11 - Fear

"I trust you've already formulated a brilliant plan to rescue the Senator," Obi-Wan remarked, inside the Twilight. He sat in the navigator's chair on Anakin's left and gestured for Jaina to take the co-pilot's to his right.

"As a matter of fact, I have," Anakin replied, starting the engines.

"But do we have a plan B?" Obi-Wan asked. "Every plan needs a backup, Anakin."

"I don't have a backup….Yet!" he said defensively. "But I do have a plan for getting us on that ship."

"Really?" Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced to the side where his Padawan was trying to conceal a snicker.

"The enemy's sensors are obviously damaged," Anakin said. "So we'll sneak in behind them and dock in the emergency airlock."

"That's your plan?" Obi-Wan asked incredulously. "Just fly there—"

"Land—" Jaina continued in disbelief.

"Hope they don't spot us—"

"And walk in the door?!" Jaina asked, disbelieving.

Anakin smiled sheepishly. "Basically."

"Oh," Obi-Wan murmured. "Brilliant. Let's get going."

* * *

Obi-Wan grimaced as another piece of debris went flying past them. "Anakin, if they spot us, we'll be pulverized!"

"They're repairing the ship, they don't have time to notice us," Anakin said flatly.

"Subtlety is not exactly one of your strong points, Master Anakin," Jaina remarked, shaking her head with a half-smile.

"Well good luck to you, Jaina," Anakin said, chuckling. "Everything I learned, I learned from your Master."

"Oh, if only that were true," Obi-Wan said grudgingly. He looked outside the viewport, where the _Malevolence _was getting closer. The _Twilight _jerked once, then landed on the side of the giant warship with a loud click.

He stood up and left the cockpit with Jaina and Anakin right behind.

"With all due respect, Master Anakin," his Padawan was saying, "you're crazy."

Under other circumstances, a remark like that would have earned her a scold, but instead he found himself stifling a laugh. "Spinning is not flying," he added.

"But it's a good trick," Anakin said with a smirk.

"We do not want to be spotted," Obi-Wan said seriously, as they exited the _Twilight _and stepped into Grievous's warship.

"I knew it!" A droid squealed. "It's them!"

Obi-Wan exchanged an amused look with Anakin before they both cut down the two battledroids standing in their way.

"Stay here, Artoo," Anakin instructed his little astromech as they began running down the hallway.

"No fair," Jaina whined. "You two always have the most fun."

* * *

The hallways were empty, and even completely focused, Obi-Wan could sense no threats nearby. Anakin ran ahead of him, his steps quiet but ringing with a desperate urgency that Obi-Wan couldn't, _didn't_, want to understand.

His Padawan was a pace behind him to his right, running with an equal silence and subtly looking around, observing her surroundings.

"Yes?" Anakin asked, speaking into his comlink. Obi-Wan turned his attention to him.

"Master. We've found the Senator," Ahsoka's voice said. "I'm patching her through."

"Padmé!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Anakin!"

"Are you all right?" he demanded. "Where are you?!"

Obi-Wan and Jaina slowed down to a halt behind him and when he glanced at her, she stood keenly aware, her brow slightly furrowed.

"On the lower levels," the Senator replied. "I'm fine, but I don't know for how long. Droids are everywhere."

"Obi-Wan, his Padawan and I are onboard too," Anakin said.

"_What?!_" she exclaimed in the comlink. "What are you doing here?!"

Obi-Wan almost grinned at the priceless, sheepish look on Anakin's face as the Senator scolded him.

"We came to get you off this ship," he replied, as if the answer was obvious. "Ahsoka, how can we get to the Senator?"

"According to our scans, there seems to be a large open area in the center of the ship," Ahsoka said from the the comlink. "It should be halfway between the two of you."

"We're on our way," Anakin said. "Did you hear that, Padmé?"

"I'll be there," she said, cutting the link.

Anakin ran forward, a new, more intense urgency in his dash. Obi-Wan and Jaina followed him down the labyrinth of empty corridors. Eventually, the extensive hallways reached an end, and lead to a vast railway system.

"Apparently, the General is not one for subtlety either," Jaina remarked wryly.

"I don't see her, Anakin," Obi-Wan said.

"She's here, Master," Anakin replied. "I sense her."

Blasterfire erupted from a few levels below them, and Anakin's face actually lit up.

"_There!_" He exclaimed.

Obi-Wan followed Anakin as he jumped to a nearby train, Jaina closely behind. They ignited their lightsabers as three blaster bolts came sailing towards them from above. The three shots were easily blocked and sent back to droids.

"_Padmé_!"

Anakin somersaulted to another train nearby, bringing himself closer to the small figure of Senator Amidala, levels below. The golden protocol droid was sprawled on a separate train going in the other direction.

"Anakin!" Padmé called in relief.

"Master!" Jaina exclaimed, pointing at something on a higher level. Obi-Wan tore his gaze away from Anakin and Padmé below them and turned to see a Super Battledroid shoot a rocket at Padmé's rail.

"The bridge is out!" Padmé cried.

"Jump to me!" Anakin exclaimed. "I'll use the Force. You have to trust me."

The Senator nodded and jumped off her train without a split-second of hesitation. Anakin levitated her easily and she landed gracefully in his arms at an awfully close proximity. Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw his Padawan raise her eyebrow skeptically.

"Nice catch!" Obi-Wan remarked wryly. "Jaina and I will fetch the droid!"

He nodded at his Padawan and began running in the opposite direction that their train was going. With his lightsaber tightly clutched in one hand, he hopped to a lower train, and spotted the golden droid inside a large metal crate. He lifted one hand and started levitating the squirming protocol droid.

Jaina landed lightly behind him, one hand outstretched, and quickly helped him lift the droid.

"What's going on?!" 3PO wailed.

There was a loud crash, causing Obi-Wan to lose his concentration and when he opened his eyes, a train collided with the protocol droid and started going in yet another direction.

"Blast!" Obi-Wan hissed.

"That's not good..." Jaina murmured. "Now what?"

"Anakin," he said into his wrist comlink. "I got separated from your droid."

"3PO!" came Padmé's worried gasp.

"I'll take care of it," Anakin grumbled. "I'll meet you back at the _Twilight,_ Padmé."

"No!" Padmé said. "We can't leave yet. I overheard Grievous. Their hyperdrive is almost repaired."

"We're already headed in that direction, Master," Jaina said, as their train entered a long tunnel.

"We'll make certain that the hyperdrive stays offline," Obi-Wan said, cutting the link. "Come on. This is our stop."

A wry smile crossed his Padawan's face as she somersaulted behind him and off the speeding train. They landed beside the railing and when Obi-Wan gestured with his right hand, a nearby door slid open.

Obi-Wan jogged through the hallway, Jaina on his heels. They reached yet another door that seemed similar to all the others. He dashed through the double doors when they opened and entered a narrow walkway with 3 skinny battledroids in front of a console waiting at the end.

He smiled politely at them but felt Jaina stiffen next to him. Large lights switched on, and entire squads of Super Battledroids came marching in. Three droidekas rolled in after them, and positioned themselves right in front of the Jedi.

Menacing laughter erupted in the chamber and Obi-Wan turned around with the same polite smile when the infamous General Grievous leapt down to meet them. He had quite a fearsome exterior that was skeletal at a first glance and four lightsabers hung from his hips, serving as a warning to any Jedi he encountered.

"Hello there," Grievous growled.

Obi-Wan could practically feel his Padawan's racing heart half a step to his left. He shifted his weight to his left foot very subtly, prepared to intercept any attack that Grievous could make on Jaina and positioning himself almost directly in front of her.

At this moment, he realized, a teenage girl from Grievous's point of view would be the weakest link. And Separatist tactics always involved taking those powerless first. He knew that Grievous's underestimation of his Padawan could be turned into an advantage if they proceeded carefully.

"General Kenobi," Grievous greeted in his raspy voice. "Did you really think I would leave the hyperdrive unguarded?"

"Anything is possible," Obi-Wan said lightly, stroking his beard and shrugging. "You haven't exactly impressed me today."

Grievous cackled. "_Kill them_!"

The droids pointed their blasters at them and Obi-Wan smiled again, almost shaking his head. He offered Jaina a subtle nod and the two of them somersaulted backwards simultaneously, igniting their lightsabers, just as the droids began firing.

They landed behind the droidekas and safe behind their shields when Obi-Wan Force-pushed one and sent it rolling towards a squad of droids in the walkway to their left. Jaina grinned and slashed at the three battledroids behind them before Force-pushing the second droideka at another squad of droids in the walkway to their right.

He stood next to her and leaned back slightly, missing a couple of shots by inches. Jaina waved her lightsaber and sent the next blasts back to their droids. They remained behind the shields of the last droideka then both sent a powerful Force-push at it, sending it rolling towards Grievous.

Obi-Wan and Jaina saluted, Jaina grinning from ear to ear, before running down the left walkway. They deflected the last shots aimed for their backs without even bothering to turn around.

Obi-Wan turned into another corridor and stopped behind one of the pillars, whipping out his wrist comm. Jaina stayed in front of him and blocked all the shots coming their way.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed from the comlink. "Come in, Obi-Wan!"

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan called. "I'm afraid Grievous is on to us."

Jaina sliced a nearby Super Battledroid neatly in half and continued to deflect the shots coming towards them.

"Yeah, we noticed!" Anakin said wryly.

"We'll rendezvous back at the _Twilight_," Obi-Wan instructed. "The fleet must engage the _Malevolence_. Anakin? Anakin!"

Jaina whipped around and stabbed a battledroid only inches behind him. She faked a sigh and looked at him almost mockingly. "Always on the comm at the wrong time, Master."

Obi-Wan almost rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "Let's go."

She nodded and followed him down the hallway until they reached the same extensive railway system. He was satisfied to see that she had more confidence this time as she ran, the insecurities he sensed briefly earlier with Grievous all gone.

"Jump," he instructed quietly.

They both used the Force to enhance a leap to the second train just before it entered a long tunnel. They remained in intense concentration, crouched on the train. He clutched his lightsaber tightly and observed his surroundings.

Loud _booms _came from behind and crates started to fly in every direction. Jaina tensed, inhaling sharply from beside him and he saw her eyebrows raise slightly. A few meters above them, Obi-Wan spotted metal claw-like mechanisms most likely used to lift cargo.

"Jaina," he said, gesturing to one of them coming up.

She nodded at him solemnly and they both Force-leapt towards one of them. Obi-Wan grasped one side of the claw, while Jaina grabbed the other. It spun in a 180 degree turn and below them, Obi-Wan could see Grievous, pair of lightsabers ignited.

They let go of the claw at the same time and kicked at Grievous right before landing. The General stumbled and Master and Padawan ignited their lightsabers. Jaina stood with absolute focus to his right.

Grievous swung at them, both his lightsabers slashing vertically. Obi-Wan blocked it easily, pointing his lightsaber horizontally to the left while Jaina, shorter than him, pointed hers to the right. They shoved him back and began running down the train.

Grievous followed and slashed at their heads again, a growl escaping his mask. Obi-Wan blocked the one aimed for his by lifting his lightsaber horizontally, while Jaina swung her blade diagonally to hit Grievous's away.

His Padawan backflipped to another train to their left, and Obi-Wan somersaulted to another one to the right, deciding to use Grievous's momentary confusion to their advantage.

Grievous leapt towards Jaina's train and landed heavily only a few meters away from her. Obi-Wan saw her eyes widen briefly in shock and fear before she raised her lightsaber to block the first fatal slash.

Obi-Wan jumped towards the train next to hers. The sight of the tall, daunting Grievous slowly approaching his petite Padawan like a predator eagerly approaching its pray filled him with dread.

Obi-Wan prepared himself to leap towards Jaina when he lost sight of her as their trains entered separate tunnels. There was no way for him to help her now and all he could see was the look of desperate concentration and bravado on her pale, sweaty face.

This was something no Jedi Master in the universe _ever_ wanted to see: his Padawan facing a droid general twice her size with two lightsabers, and probably even more hidden underneath his cape. The almost futile look of conviction on her face, in her stance, despite knowing that she was facing this monstrosity without her master, all alone.

His heart raced, eagerly awaiting the end of the tunnel. He willed his mind not to think of what he would encounter on the other side. He took in a deep breath and pushed all images of what could possibly be going on behind the meters of concrete separating them. And for the first time in a long while, Obi-Wan Kenobi felt the cold stab of fear.


	13. Light and Dark

Chapter 12 – Light and Dark

Jaina took yet another step back, anxiously awaiting Grievous's next strike. He continued to approach her slowly in his towering 7 foot frame. Soulless, yellow eyes stared at her from behind the monstrous mask and he cackled.

"No master to save your head this time," he said ominously.

"When did I say I needed him?" Jaina offered the general her best imitation of Master Obi-Wan's polite smile and saluted with her lightsaber.

Grievous growled and struck in a flash, stabbing at her hip with his blue lightsaber while slashing horizontally at her neck with the green one. Jaina called on the Force to enhance the speed of her block and swung a semi-circle in the air, starting in front of her neck and ending above her hip, hitting both lightsabers away before they touched her skin.

She held her blade vertically in front of her body and moved it to the right to block another slash for her right shoulder. Jaina felt her heart race as she struggled to catch her breath. She pointed it to the ground diagonally to parry a slash for her knee then brought it swiftly above her head to block a vertical slash.

All the countless spars she'd been forced to endure with her master flashed through her mind. This was completely different. Here, one wrong move didn't mean a stinging electrical shock; one wrong move meant the end.

Jaina gulped and desperately tried to remember everything she'd been taught. She swung at his left shoulder and reeled her foot in before kicking at his knee.

"_Ouch_!" Jaina yelped and stumbled back a step, her ankle burning.

_Nice_, she thought bitterly. _That was brilliant. I should do that again._

Grievous cackled. "Let me show you how that one is done, Padawan."

Jaina's eyes widened as he aimed a powerful and excruciating kick at her stomach. She hit a nearby metal crate with a painful thud and shifted all her weight to her uninjured foot. Her head was throbbing, her vision blurring and her breaths came in strained gasps. _Focus!_

She parried a blow for her hip and bent backwards, under his second lightsaber. The train turned left abruptly and Jaina struggled to keep her balance. She squinted and adjusted her vision as the train finally exited the tunnel.

There was no way she could win this. Jaina stared at the notorious droid general in front of her, taking in every detail from his long, sharp, metal limbs to his almost impenetrable armor, and she realized in anguish that this battle was between a womp rat and a rancor.

She couldn't let him win, couldn't show any ounce of her true fear. This was between Jaina, the resolute teenager, and Grievous, the daunting General. Light versus dark. Without her Master. She needed to find a way to even the odds.

Jaina jumped over a low swing for her knees and used the momentum of her jump to somersault over Grievous's head. Before she landed, she stabbed lightly at his lower back.

Grievous growled angrily and Jaina landed in a crouch before cart wheeling behind him as he whirled around in fury. She slashed his green lightsaber in half after a split second of intense calculation and literally flew back as he kicked her for a second time.

Jaina hit the same metal crate, this time her head banging against it painfully. Her eyes watered but she saw Grievous furiously approaching her, his blue saber casting an ominous glow on his yellow eyes.

"Your lightsaber will soon replace the one you destroyed, Padawan," he spat.

"Is that before or after we return you to Dooku in pieces?" Jaina retorted, raising her lightsaber defiantly.

Grievous swung his lightsaber and hit hers away with such force that it fell from her sweaty grip. Jaina felt fear begin to engulf her, along with guilt for feeling such an un-Jedi-like emotion. But staring at those emotionless, demonic eyes made her feel as though she was staring at death itself.

He reached out, grabbed her by the throat and shoved her to the crate. She tried to yell, tried to claw his hands off, to grip his wrist desperately. All the stories she'd heard about the Separatist General were true.

"I'd say after, Jaina," said a familiar voice that sent a rush of relief through her. "General. You'd be wise to unhand my Padawan."

Obi-Wan stepped out from behind a nearby crate, his gaze fatal, as close to fury as she'd ever seen, his arm already outstretched. The General's metal hand flew out open and Jaina took in a long gasp of breath as he dropped her.

She Force pushed a nearby crate at him, sent him spiraling over the edge of the train. Jaina let out a long breath and leaned back on the nearest crate from her uncomfortable position on the floor. "Well, that took you longer than usual, Master," she panted.

"Are you hurt?" Obi-Wan asked, kneeling next to her and laying a hand on her shoulder.

"No," Jaina replied with a half-smile. "You took a while, but still right on time."

Obi-Wan smiled and ruffled her hair. "I usually am, Padawan." He helped her back to her feet gently, taking her other arm while she held the crate for support.

"I noticed," Jaina said sarcastically. "Let's get out of here before Master Anakin blows the ship up and us along with it."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "That's one way to put it. Follow me," he said, gesturing forward.

A loud, booming sound prevented both of them from taking another step. One of large metal crates flew off the train and when they looked at the source of the noise, General Grievous stood, enraged, and shoved another crate out of his way.

Obi-Wan and Jaina immediately took defensive positions, Jaina still feeling slightly light-headed.

Grievous snarled furiously and tossed one of the crates at them. Obi-Wan and Jaina both raised their arms and Force pushed the crate away, off the train they were on. There were several stories of tracks underneath them, but a miscalculated jump could now be fatal.

Grievous didn't waste a split-second; he charged towards them and slashed horizontally at their sabers.

"Jaina—" Obi-Wan started.

"I got it, I got it," Jaina said, her voice strained, as she twirled her lightsaber in a clockwise motion and abruptly pulled back, aiming a stab for Grievous's shoulder while her master slashed for his opposite arm.

Grievous roared furiously and swung his single lightsaber swiftly and diagonally, blocking both their strikes and catching her off-guard for a moment.

Obi-Wan lowered himself to a crouch and slashed horizontally at Grievous's legs while Jaina somersaulted above his head and slashed for his neck at the same time, before she landed.

Grievous jumped over Obi-Wan's blade and curled himself into a ball in the air to avoid Jaina's and he landed heavily on his feet, his lightsaber's tip inches from Jaina's face.

She frowned and hit it away, then cartwheeled back to her master's side.

"Jaina," he called, then gestured ever so slightly with his eyes at an incoming train.

Jaina nodded and he gestured with his eyes again at the bottom of the current train they were on. There, she saw the wires that controlled the brakes and the other controls.

Grievous growled and turned around slowly before walking towards them. Obi-Wan had his polite smile on, and Jaina could have laughed.

Grievous swung for them both and they both ducked simultaneously, in opposite directions.

Jaina rolled off the train, slashing the wires for the controls as she did so and landed in a comfortable sitting position in the next, incoming one. Her master had done the same on the other side, with the wires for the breaks, and landed behind her, kneeling with one knee up.

Jaina grinned as she and her master saluted at a stunned Grievous, their train going in the other direction and soon entering a tunnel.

They somersaulted of as soon as the train came to a stop and began running down the hallway.

"Do we know where we're going?" Jaina asked as turned down another corridor.

Obi-Wan offered her the slightest of shrugs. "The Force will guide us."

Jaina groaned. "Oh, no."

"Left," Obi-Wan snapped as several squads of battledroids and droidekas appeared in front of them.

Jaina followed him down the corridor to their left, her lightsaber deflecting incoming shots.

"We were in this corridor earlier," she mused, Force pushing a door to their right closed before Super battledroids could have emerged.

More battledroids came out from behind them and Jaina whirled around, blocking some shots and sending them back at the droids. A squad of Super battledroids marched in from another corridor to their left and her Master spun around too, his lightsaber swiftly blocking almost everything.

They were almost back to back now, Obi-Wan covering the left, Jaina deflecting what she could from behind.

"We don't have the time for this," Obi-Wan murmured.

"I think I have the solution," Jaina replied with a grin, taking out two electro-magnetic grenades, usually known as "droid-poppers", from her belt. "I knew we were going to need these one day."

Jaina tossed both into the air and used the Force to send them sailing towards the two squads of droids. Obi-Wan beamed as they all fell to the ground after a loud _pop_. "Good job, let's go."

They started running down the hallway again, their booted footsteps being the only noise in the corridor. Another door slid open to their left, and three droidekas rolled their way in, almost directly in front of them.

"_Blast!_" Jaina exclaimed, her foot inches from a destroyer droid. There were several clicks as they prepared their weapons and Jaina cartwheeled until she was a meter back.

"You take that one, I'll take these two," her master ordered, his lightsaber already blocking the incoming barrage.

Jaina nodded and deactivated her lightsaber before beginning to dash backwards. The destroyer droid put down its shields and began rolling after her. Jaina backflipped until she was behind it, then she Force-pulled it towards her, ignited her lightsaber and slashed it neatly in half.

"All clear!" She called, jogging back to her master.

"All clear," he repeated, looking up from the wreckage of his own droids. "Come on."

They continued running down the hallway, no droids intercepting this time _yet_. Jaina kept her eyes open and glanced at all her surroundings to make sure nothing could take them by surprise this time. Jaina Force pushed the button that shut the door of yet another hallway, preventing a squad of battledroids from pursuing them.

"Hold the ship!" Her master yelled at Anakin, who was now in view at the entrance of the _Twilight_ next to Senator Amidala and a protocol droid.

"Hey, wait for us!" Jaina added, somersaulting over a trio of droidekas.

Anakin gestured with his hand and a stack of cargo boxes behind them toppled over and on top of the destroyer droids. Jaina and Obi-Wan quickly entered the ship.

"Let's go," her master ordered.

The four of them hurried into the cockpit, Anakin taking his original seat as pilot, with Jaina taking the co-pilot seat, Obi-Wan in the navigator's and the protocol droid at the comm console. Senator Amidala stood behind Anakin's chair.

"Senator, get your droid to contact the fleet," Obi-Wan said.

The Senator nodded and started giving orders to her droid.

"Conducting pre-flight check," Jaina reported.

"Everybody, hang on!" Anakin said loudly, jerking the ship forward.

"Or not," Jaina said wryly, leaning back in her seat.

"Two squadrons of droids are in hot pursuit," she said as the _Twilight_ zoomed away from the _Malevolence_, now set almost completely ablaze. "Thirty degrees off the port."

"I see them," Anakin said. "Spinning doesn't seem to be working this time. You know, we have guns!"

"I was just about to—" Obi-Wan said defensively.

"I got it, I got it," Senator Amidala said, pulling the targeting computer from the ceiling.

"She seems to know her way around," Obi-Wan remarked.

Jaina double checked the screens and the indicators. "The rear shields are losing power," she said. "We won't be able to last much longer if we don't fight back."

The _Twilight_ continued to spin as it made its way towards the Republic fleet and Jaina was grateful that she hadn't eaten anything recently. She flipped the switches that transferred the emergency power to their rear shields and several of the screens in front of her blinked green or blue.

The ship rocked slightly as vulture droids blew up from behind them.

"Nice shot, Senator!" Obi-Wan said.

"Beginner's luck," Amidala said wryly.

"Almost there," Anakin murmured.

One screen lit up an ominous red in Jaina's console. "Master! The _Malevolence _is attempting to go into hyperspace!" She said urgently.

"It's all right," Anakin said.

"_What_?!" Both Obi-Wan and Jaina demanded at the same time.

Jaina looked back at her screens. "They're calculating their coordinates, they should be jumping soon! We have to intercept!"

Suddenly, with a burst of light, the _Malevolence_ _did_ jump. Right straight into the nearby moon.

A blinding explosion rocked the ship. Obi-Wan and Jaina stared at the space where the _Malevolence _disintegrated, stunned.

"Or not..." Jaina murmured.

"I imagine you had something to do with that," Obi-Wan said, chuckling.

Anakin smiled his trademark half-smirk. "All part of the plan, Master."

* * *

**A/N: So sorry I took forever! I'm done with the next chapter, just proof-reading it, and since I took forever to post this one, the next one is extremely loooong LOL. **

**Expect Chapter 13 by tomorrow and I really hope I haven't lost all my readers! D:**


	14. Advantageous Revelations

Chapter 13 – Advantageous Revelations

"All right, Padawan," Jaina heard her Master say. "Before we begin, I want you to tell me what you see."

It had been months since the long battles and missions that Christophsis, Teth and the _Malevolence _brought came to a final end. Jaina stood in the centre of a sparring mat in the Temple's many chambers, enjoying one of those exciting, intense and sometimes painful spars with her master.

Jaina quirked her mouth in a half-smile, tapping the blindfold. "Well, Master, technically, I see nothing. But there are a dozen training droids hovering around us, judging by the hums, a bench about three meters away, and the hushed whispers indicate excited Padawans and initiates in the Observation Deck, eager for you to spar...Oh, wait. Rushed footsteps. Padawans are gone."

Obi-Wan chuckled. She guessed he was standing next to her. "Remind me to skip that part of the exercise next time."

"Sure thing, Master." Jaina laughed. "Hmm. I hear slow, deliberate footsteps. I think your admirers are back, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan sighed and ignited his training saber. "Let's get on with it."

Jaina activated her saber with barely a moment to spare. She blocked three incoming shots and somersaulted forward to where she knew the first droid hovered.

She felt her master land next to her lightly and heard his saber from half a meter away. Knowing that he had the left side covered, Jaina turned her back to him and blocked all the shots coming from the right.

Jaina heard a faint hum and felt a warning through the Force. She ducked, bringing her lightsaber down vertically with her and slashing at two droids as a third sailed over her head.

She heard her master's saber as it swung above her and destroyed the training droid.

Bits of debris rained on her and she flipped forward. Jaina landed back on her feet and jumped up to slash at the nearest droid. She felt Obi-Wan take a step towards her and tried to remain airborne for another split second as his lightsaber slashed at a droid underneath her.

"How many does that make?" Jaina asked, panting. She flinched as a shot went past her saber and a stinging pain erupted on her thigh.

"I've got five down, Jaina," Obi-Wan said, his voice inches away. "The rest are yours, Padawan."

Jaina realized with a touch of humiliation that she'd only taken three down and quickly did the mental calculation.

"That makes four more," Jaina murmured, switching to a one-handed grip. She swung diagonally and brought her blade over her head. She felt a surge in the Force and stabbed forward, cleanly through the centre of a training droid.

"Three," Obi-Wan said from in front of her. "I've got you covered."

Jaina nodded and stretched out with the Force. Most of the shots were intensifying from the left. Jaina slashed vertically downwards to her left, cutting down one droid in the process.

She heard Obi-Wan take a step forward and felt panic for a split second as she slashed back upwards at the second droid, only centimeters away from her master's head.

He was blocking the shots from the last droid behind them when Jaina spun around. They both stepped forward at the same time and Jaina sliced vertically while Obi-Wan sliced horizontally, their uniform calculation causing their blades to narrowly miss each other.

Jaina grinned and pulled the blindfold off her face. "Wow! Twelve droids! That's a new record!"

Obi-Wan smiled and untied his blindfold. "Before you know it, we'll be at twenty."

"I hope not," Jaina said with a laugh.

Obi-Wan gave a casual wave to the Padawans gaping in awe as they stood in the hallway. Some waved back, others, to Jaina's amusement, shyly ran away.

"Wow, Master, you're famous," Jaina said mockingly, Force-pulling the bottle of water she brought and taking a swig.

Obi-Wan shook his head, choosing not to retort.

"No, Ahsoka, _not like that_!" An irritated yell echoed from the next chamber. "How come you don't _listen_ to me?!"

Jaina grimaced. "Ouch. Poor girl."

Obi-Wan patted her shoulder as they walked to the next chamber. "You have it easier than you can ever imagine, my young Padawan."

Ahsoka and Anakin came into view, Ahsoka glowering furiously at her master. "Don't yell at me, Skyguy! I'm doing the best I can. If I'm not doing it right, that's your fault, not mine. You're the Jedi Master and I'm the Padawan, remember? I'm not _supposed_ to know everything yet!"

Jaina laughed and smirked at her master. "You have it easier than you can ever imagine too, my Master."

Obi-Wan smiled, amused, and folded his arms across his chest. Anakin started walking towards them and only turned back to his apprentice once.

Ahsoka looked like she was on the verge of tears. Angry tears. She hadn't moved an inch, her chin still raised in that defiant manner that Jaina found very difficult to actually pull off in front of her own master.

"Look," Anakin said to her, "it's not that you're doing a _bad_ job. You're not. But that's not the same as doing a _good _job, Ahsoka."

Her chin lifted even higher, to Jaina's astonishment. "I did a good job on Christophsis, didn't I? And on Teth, and Tatooine?"

Jaina rolled her eyes but stopped herself from making any comment as her master gave her a warning look.

"I never said you didn't," Anakin said. "But you got lucky a lot, too. Luck can only take you so far, Padawan. Do you expect me to trust my life to you based on _luck_?"

"No," she muttered. "Of course I don't."

"Good because I won't do it," he said sternly. "Now complete fifty repetitions of Niman Form - level one. By yourself. Centered in the Force. Identical. Don't rush it; don't try to get it over with. Dwell within each beat of the exercise. I'm going to record your exercise and be back later," Anakin said, taking out a droid cam.

Jaina bit her bottom lip. "You're right, I _do_ have it easy."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Anakin, she shows great promise," he said as Anakin approached them. Obi-Wan laid a hand on top of Jaina's head. "The small, scrappy ones often turn out the best, you know."

Jaina laughed and shoved his hand off lightly. "I don't know if that was a complement or an insult."

"She'll do," Anakin grunted. "I suppose you think this is when I'm meant to say _Wow, Obi-Wan, I never knew how tough you had it when you were training me. But I get it now. Now it all makes perfect sense_."

Jaina actually laughed. Obi-Wan grinned widely. "Something like that, yes," he said.

"Yeah, well," Anakin said, sighing and scratching the back of his neck. "Maybe I do."

Minutes passed with both of them silent. Jaina watched Ahsoka perform her task, feeling a sense of déjà vu to that moment a year ago when Exhibition Day was just about to begin.

"Why are you staring at me?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin, his eyebrow raised. "Is there a fly on my nose?"

Jaina snorted. It was always so entertaining to watch those two...

Anakin shook his head. "I was just wondering how much longer we'll be stuck here on Coruscant when every day Jedi and clones and ordinary people are fighting and dying for the Republic."

"I know it's difficult," Obi-Wan said. "If it helps, we're anxious too. But the Council has its reasons for everything, you know that."

"And you don't know anything?"

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "If you mean do I know where and when our next mission will be, then I must disappoint you."

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Jaina said cheerfully. "But your apprentice has finished her task, Master Skywalker."

Anakin wrinkled his nose. "That still doesn't sound right. Don't call me that."

"Sorry, couldn't resist," Jaina said, grinning. "I'll let her know that she did a job well done, shall I?"

Ahsoka stood in the centre of the sparring mat, panting and glaring slightly at Jaina as she approached.

Jaina held up both her hands. "I come in peace," she said, a touch of mockery in her voice.

"This is so unfair," Ahsoka growled. "You get to spar with your master, I get stuck repeating Forms over and over again."

Jaina laughed. "I don't think you want to spar with Master Anakin yet, Ahsoka. Unless you'd like your body sent to the infirmary in pieces. I've seen him spar Master Obi-Wan, he's pretty tough."

"Still," she said, exhaling deeply. "I watched you two spar for a while, and it seemed like you always knew where he was going to move next, even when you both were blindfolded."

"Yeah, I've gotten used to his style a bit more now and he's shaped mine so we can sort of predict each other's movements sometimes," Jaina replied, shrugging. "It's not uncommon."

"You _knew_exactly where he was going to move next," Ahsoka pressed. "When he moved left, you took the right. When you ducked down, he slashed upwards. It was like instinct. You even stepped forward _at the same_ _time_ at one point."

"Relax, Ahsoka," Jaina said, thinking that maybe there was more to this. "You'll reach that point soon. I've been his Padawan for quite a while longer than you've been Master Anakin's and we've fought countless battles already. Just be patient, you'll probably reach that soon."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Not if he refuses to spar with me and leaves me with droids."

"I wish I could say something that can help you, but I really can't," Jaina said after a moment. "The only advice I can give is to be patient. Every master is different; Master Anakin is the epitome of that statement."

Ahsoka smiled. "That's true. Thanks. Maybe you're not so bad after all."

Jaina laughed. "Uh...you're welcome...?"

"Jaina," Obi-Wan called from the other side of the sparring chamber. "Something's come up."

Anakin was now walking towards them and Obi-Wan was conversing with a Jedi Knight Jaina hadn't met before.

Ahsoka gestured with her head towards Obi-Wan. "You'd better go. I've got some practice to do."

"Have fun," Jaina said with a wink. "See you soon."

"You can count on that," she said in return.

Jaina inclined her head at Anakin as she passed him and stood behind her master in front of the Knight.

"Master Kenobi, Padawan Knightrunner," the Jedi Knight greeted. "The command centre has just received a message for you from a certain Dexter Jettser. He claimed it was urgent but would not divulge any details. He said he had important information."

Obi-Wan frowned. "Did he say anything else?"

"No, Master Kenobi," he replied. "Only that he needed to speak with you as soon as possible."

She looked back and forth from her master to the Knight. Jaina had met Dex before; his Diner was the first place her master had taken her after he chose her as his Padawan.

They had enough time then, almost a year ago, she realized with a start, to indulge in a long conversation ranging from their lives, themselves, the past and the possible futures to Dex's famous sliders on their plates.

"On a more positive note," Jaina said, shrugging and smiling slightly. "We haven't had a plate of Dex's sliders in a long while, Master."

Obi-Wan's features softened and he looked as if he was holding back a smile. "Thank you for passing along the message, Knight T'Seely," he said. "I will inform the Council of this. Padawan, wait for me in the docking bay and please prep a citibike."

Jaina wrinkled her nose. "A citibike?"

"You do not want to attract undue attention in the Galarb District, especially at this time," he replied, already beginning to walk in the other direction. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

Jaina bowed at his retreating form then at Knight T'Seely before walking towards the docking bay complex.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jaina stood leaning against the citibike she'd just signed out. She was holding the bike key and humming an upbeat song she had no idea she even knew.

Impatience and anticipation were starting to rise and she checked her wrist chrono absently.

Faint footsteps echoed from nearby and Obi-Wan emerged from behind a large airspeeder. "Everything ready?"

"Yes, Master," Jaina said, handing him the key. "Any chance you'll let me drive?"

"Sorry, Jaina, not this time," he said, smiling ruefully and patting her shoulder. "I know you're more than capable, and if it were any other circumstance, I would have said yes. Just not this time, we have to take every precaution."

Jaina sighed theatrically and sat on the edge of the citibike's long seat. "Next time?"

"Deal," Obi-Wan said, chuckling and sitting in front of her on the bike.

"This is a fully functional bike, Master Kenobi," the requisitions droid on duty said. "Please be so kind as to return it that way this time."

Obi-Wan touched two fingers to his forehead in a wry salute. "I will do my best."

Jaina held back a laugh as her master sped out the docking bay and into the congested traffic lanes.

Obi-Wan lifted his hood well down his face and Jaina followed suit, holding the sides of the seat until her knuckles were white. She frowned. "I thought Dex's Diner was that way?"

"It is, Padawan," Obi-Wan replied. "We're taking the long way and going around. Like I said, we're taking the necessary precautions."

* * *

"_Obi-Wan!_" Dex exclaimed from inside his kitchen. "_Jaina!_ Hey, old buddy! What are you two doing here? I thought you were too grand for the likes of us in Coco Town!"

Dex tossed his wipe-down cloth inside as he exited the kitchen and enveloped both Obi-Wan and Jaina in a crushing, four-armed hug. Jaina laughed.

"Too grand, Dex?" Obi-Wan asked, amused. "I'm sorry, I don't quite—"

"That's right!" Dex exclaimed. "Didn't you know it? You're _famous_now!" He laughed merrily and turned to his breakfast customers, arms raised. "Hey, everyone! Recognize these two?! You musta seen them on the HoloNet; this guy's ugly face is _everywhere_! This is Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi! The hero of Christophsis! And before that, Geonosis and Anoth! His Padawan, Commander Jaina Knightrunner! Come on, _you mooches_, a round of applause please!"

Dex's ragtag collection of loyal breakfast patrons abandoned their meals and mugs to begin snorting, whistling or clapping.

Obi-Wan bowed awkwardly and gestured for Jaina to do the same. She did so with even less grace, her eyes wide and confused.

Abruptly, Dex crushed their ribs by engulfing them in another enthusiastic hug. "Play along," he whispered. "You never know who's watching."

Obi-Wan offered Jaina a subtle nod before smiling good-naturedly. "What am I doing here?" He asked as soon as Dex released his suffocating hold. "I've come for a cup of the best chava chava in all Coruscant."

"Is that right?" Dex asked, grinning at his curious patrons. "Hey, I thought you Jedi types weren't allowed to lie?"

Jaina threw a confused glance up at her master, completely lost. His eyebrows lowered very slightly and Jaina could already practically see the gears turning in his head.

"Oh," Master Obi-Wan said, quickly faking an embarrassed smile. "All right, you've caught me out. The truth is, I didn't think to check the charge levels on my citibike's power cell. I'm afraid it was either land here so you could give me a spare, or crash."

Dex's patrons began conversing in hushed whispers, snickering and making rude comments that began to irritate Jaina.

"I take it all back, Obi-Wan," Dex said, shaking his head. "You're no hero...you're a rollicking _noski_."

Jaina frowned and tiptoed up to her master, tugging on his sleeve. "What's a noski?" She whispered.

Obi-Wan replied with a glare and turned back to Dex. "Look, I hope you don't mind, Dex, but I've parked the wretched bike out front."

Another booming laugh. "No, I don't mind, Obi-Wan, so long as you pay the fine if an inspector notices it!"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said. "No need to worry about that. But I don't wish to get you into trouble so...about that power cell?"

"Sure, sure," Dex said, pulling up his sagging trousers. "I can spare you a power cell, Obi-Wan. But d'you mind waiting a little while? I'm still a bit busy."

"Yes, of course," her master said courteously. "My apprentice and I will stand outside with the bike, just in case an inspector happens by."

"Good idea," Dex said. "Take a break from your heroics and I'll be right with you."

Obi-Wan rested a hand on Jaina's shoulder and they exited the diner.

Jaina leaned leisurely on the diner wall, next to her master. The buildings surrounding Dex's small diner were all so tall. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sun's warmth on her skin before surveying her surroundings again.

Passersby were busily walking and several groundcars were swiftly swerving into other nearby streets. When she directed her gaze upward, she saw the airspeeder traffic lanes but still couldn't see the tops of all the nearby buildings.

"Noski means idiot," Obi-Wan said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence.

Jaina frowned, astonished. "Why did Dex call you an idiot in front of all those people?"

Obi-Wan shrugged. "Perhaps he is taking some precautions on his own."

"Those are certainly some strange precautions," Jaina murmured wryly. "I'm still confused."

"That makes two of us," he admitted.

"Why'd he call you here urgently if that was all he intended to do? What was that all about?"

"I don't know, Jaina," Obi-Wan replied. "I don't know."

Another comfortable silence began, this time with Jaina scrutinizing the passersby. Some actually stopped in their tracks and pointed at them, others whispered to their companions and started to double-take. A group of teenage girls actually giggled loudly, pointed at them and giggled again.

Jaina's eyebrows raised and she almost laughed. "Master, people are staring at you."

Obi-Wan pulled his hood over his head and gestured subtly at the group of girls, a smirk on his bearded face. "People are staring at _us_."

Jaina looked back to the teenage girls and saw them clutching a holozine. Next to a particular article was a three-dimensional, unflattering imagine of a dirt-covered Jaina, slicing a Super Battledroid in half with a steadfast look on her face. She guessed that was taken from Christophsis.

Jaina gasped and blushed, raising her own hood over her head hastily. "_Kriff_."

"Watch your language, my young Padawan."

"What am I doing in a holozine?" She asked, more to herself.

"Now you know how I feel," Obi-Wan said, chuckling.

"Yes, but you're a Jedi Master, a General," Jaina remarked. "I'm just your Padawan."

"The whole reason the Jedi are currently being highly publicized is because Chancellor Palpatine believes that people cannot love an abstract. He wants the people to come to love the Jedi as people. And by publishing articles on even the younger Jedi at war, such as yourself, he is reaching out to another demographic, the youth, such as those teenage girls."

Jaina cringed. "I'm not so sure I agree with his methods."

"Oh, I don't," Obi-Wan said, lowering his hood as a couple stopped to gape at them. "And neither does the Council. But he claimed that he knew precisely what he was doing. And well he _is_ the Supreme Chancellor."

Jaina snorted but chose not to reply. She turned her back on the sidewalk and the groundcar strip, deciding that it was wiser to pretend to be tinkering with the fully functional bike to avoid further recognition.

Her master followed suit but chose to pretend he was overseeing her progress.

A few moments later, one of Dex's droids exited the Diner and headed towards them. It was wearing a diner cap and carrying a power cell and a clunky, battered toolbox. "Dex says you need these."

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes, we do. Thank you. Just put them down where you are."

"Sorry, Dex says to take your repairs around the back," the droid said.

Jaina looked up. It was a reasonable request, away from passersby where there was hint of privacy.

"Oh," her master said. "Of course."

He and Jaina guided the citibike to the diner's rear with the droid clattering along behind them. It dropped the power cell and the toolbox near them and turned back to the diner without another word.

"Hmph," Jaina mused. "Not very friendly, is it?"

* * *

"That's the breakfast rush over," Dex's strained voice echoed from behind them some five minutes later. "I got a minute or three for you and your apprentice, Obi-Wan. Then I have to get back to the kitchen."

Both Obi-Wan and Jaina stood up from their positions crouched next to the citibike. They'd already started switching the power cells – mostly relying on the Force since all Dex's tools were for beings of his size with his arms – when a surge in the Force caused both to stiffen and reach for their sabers instinctively. Fortunately, that surge had been Dex.

Obi-Wan's hand dropped back to his side and he released a breath Jaina was certain he was not aware he was holding. "Was all of this elaborate setup really necessary?"

Dex's eyes wrinkles shut then opened wide. His throat pouch bellied and Jaina's heart raced at the sign of annoyance.

"And when was I in the habit of wasting your time, Master Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan nodded. As rare as it was, he actually looked embarrassed. "A fair point," he said. "I'm sorry, Dex, I hate to admit it, but I'm a little on edge."

Dex leaned idly against the diner's smooth wall and began smoking something he'd pulled out of his pocket. "Christophsis was bad, eh?"

Obi-Wan snorted, another rare thing she hardly ever saw her master do. "What makes you think that? By all accounts the HoloNet news footage was positively stirring."

"And so it was," Dex said, considering him and blowing out a puff of pink, herbal smoke. "I think they filmed it somewhere on Alderaan with a holovid company supplying the special effects."

"Since when were you such a cynic?" Obi-Wan asked, staring at him.

"War brings out my better nature," Dex said, stubbing the butt of whatever he was smoking on the diner's dumpster.

"Not this time, it doesn't," Obi-Wan said. "The footage was real enough, Dex."

"Those blasted droidcams were everywhere we turned," Jaina said, speaking somewhat timidly for the first time. "But I think what actually ended up being broadcast was...heavily edited."

Jaina was well-aware that the HoloNet only showed death and destruction of _droids_. The bodies of the valiant clones and officers that had lost their lives on Christophsis weren't as...photogenic.

"Of course it was," Dex said, as cynical as ever.

Jaina bit her bottom lip and decided to keep her mouth shut for the next couple of minutes.

"I don't entirely disagree with the decision, you know," Obi-Wan said gently, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "The edited footage didn't lie, after all. We were victorious. Eventually. But what's the point of frightening people? The Core Worlds must remain stable and calm. You know that. Panic is contagious, and it spreads fast."

"If we let it take hold in the heart of the Republic, a great many people could be hurt," Jaina said, even more timidly than before. "Maybe even killed."

"That's true enough," Dex admitted. "But if you make this war too neat and tidy, Obi-Wan, could be that folks won't mind how long it lasts. Then again, maybe it's different for you Jedi. Being as how you're warriors and all."

Jaina blinked, stunned. Her master wore a similar expression on his face.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "That's not fair. We didn't ask for this conflict. It was thrust down our throats so hard we nearly choked. Do you think I enjoy seeing my 14 year-old Padawan getting shot at or almost blown up on practically a daily basis? But we can't not fight."

"The Separatists are willing to use the most brutal tactics imaginable to force separation on planets that have no desire to leave the Republic," Jaina said. "They must be stopped."

Sighing loudly, Dex nodded and scratched his chin. "You're both right. Don't mind my crotches, Obi-Wan, Jaina. Seems you two aren't the only ones on edge."

"You said you had some important information, Dex," Obi-Wan said urgently.

"You'd better get on with swapping that power cell," Dex replied. "Just in case we're being watched."

"We aren't," Obi-Wan said, but he and Jaina went back to tinkering. "Dex, what's going on?"

Dex reached for another stick of what he was smoking. This time he didn't puff out the pink smoke. He rubbed a hand across his face. "Could be—maybe—I know where you can lay your hands on that piece of _chizk_ Grievous."

Jaina dropped a hydrospanner, her mouth slightly agape. Obi-Wan stared at Dex. With Dooku's cyborg General out of the picture, the war would practically be won.

"Where, Dex?" Obi-Wan demanded. "Where is he?"

"Right now?" Dex said, wincing. "Don't know. But I know where he might be in the next little while."

"_Might_ be? Dex..."

"Intelligence isn't a sure business, Obi-Wan," Dex said furiously. "If you've come for guarantees, you've come to the wrong place."

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said, sighing. "But Master Yoda and the other Masters are going to ask me. I have to be able to say I asked you."

Dex inhaled again from his herb, enraged. "They don't trust me?"

"They don't know you, it's not quite the same thing," Obi-Wan said, patting Jaina's shoulder and standing back up with the new power cell in place.

He plucked the thing Dex was smoking from his fingers and pulverized it beneath his boot. "You really ought to stop smoking these cheroots. They're not good for you."

Oh. So it was a cheroot.

"Now," her master said gravely. "About Grievous."

Dex pulled out a third cheroot and lit it defiantly. "There's a whisper come to me. Grievous plans to capture Bothawui."

Jaina's eyes widened and she almost stumbled as she stood back up. The home of the Bothans? Their intelligence-gathering skills were legendary, more than half of the Republic's Intelligence Agency was made up of Bothans.

Their assistance in the war had already caused so many advantages. Intelligence was their greatest currency. Losing a hyperspace lane seemed like a miniscule crisis next to losing Bothawui. This had to be a mistake.

"Dex, are you sure about this?" Obi-Wan questioned, regaining his composure.

"My source is," Dex said. "And she's not new at this game."

"And do you trust her?"

Dex's hands clenched into tight fists. "I trust her."

"Do the Bothans know what Grievous plans?" Obi-Wan asked, then shook his head. "Of course, they must. They're Bothans. But why haven't they told us? Why—"

"They don't know," Dex said, his cloudy eyes a sign of his deep concern. "There's a good chance I'm the only one that knows. Me and my source. And now you two. It was an accident she even found out. And she only risked telling me to pay back a life debt."

Dex sighed and his voice lowered to a whisper. "Obi-Wan, Jaina...You Jedi can't let Grievous get his metal hands on Bothawui."

They couldn't, not with so much at stake. Now Jaina understood why he'd been so afraid, so paranoid. Why they couldn't have discussed this over a comm connection.

The tiniest hint that this plan had become common knowledge would surely see Grievous slaughtering thousands.

"What else can you tell me, Dex?" Her master asked. "When is Grievous expected to make his move?"

"What size battle group will he take to the Bothan system?" Jaina added. "Can we expect—"

"I'm sorry, Jaina, Obi-Wan," Dex said, spreading all four arms wide. "I don't know. If I did, I'd tell you."

"I know you would," Obi-Wan said, running a hand over his beard. "Dex, thank you for this. The Council will be most grateful. We owe you the debt of many lives."

Dex sighed wearily. "I wish I could tell you both more, but I can't, so you'd best go. I've got the lunch crowd to think about and you've got an invasion to stop.

Obi-Wan managed to smile. "Are you quite sure you wouldn't like to trade jobs?"

Jaina grinned, amused.

Dex's smile was strained. "Obi-Wan, old buddy, not for a hundred million credits."

Obi-Wan and Dex embraced briefly, two old friends bidding goodbye before a battle. Or that's how it looked from where Jaina stood.

Then Dex enveloped Jaina in another hug and said, gruffly, "You keep him out of trouble for me, will ya?"

Jaina grinned. "Always."

"I doubt we'll be on Coruscant for much longer," Obi-Wan said as soon as Dex put Jaina back down. "Even if we're not involved with finding and stopping Grievous, there'll be other engagements. The Separatists are merely catching their breath after Christophsis. The fighting will start again perhaps within days." He smiled. "So keep the chava chava hot for me, yes?"

Dex nodded. "And a pair of seats empty, old buddy. May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan tossed the bike key to a stunned Jaina and took the edge of the seat. "I said next time, didn't I?"

Were the situation not so dire, Jaina would have laughed. But she nodded, mounted the front of the bike and took hold of the controls.

"And with you, Dex," Obi-Wan said with a solemn nod.

Jaina switched on the repulsorlifts and Dex was slowly getting out of sight. Without hesitation and with the careful precision she worked to perfect as a starfighter pilot, Jaina sped into the Coruscant sky.

* * *

**A/N: Here's that next chapter as promised :) I hope you're all still out there! But either way, Chapter 14 is almost done and it should be up soon too :) I appreciate comments and reviews, may the Force be with you! :)**


	15. Firestorm

Chapter 14 - Firestorm

"Never mind the traffic laws, Jaina," Obi-Wan said from his position behind his Padawan. "We've got Bothawui to worry about."

Jaina nodded and Obi-Wan could see from the way that her shoulders were tense, the way her hands tightly gripped the controls, that his Padawan was equally as anxious as he was.

"Turn left there," Obi-Wan instructed, gesturing to an incoming street.

"I know, I know, I saw you make the turn earlier and I remember the directions," Jaina replied, flashing a half-hearted smile over her shoulder. "No backseat drivers please."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "We cannot afford to be careless, my young Padawan. Not when we're carrying information that could very well change the tide of this war."

"I wasn't suggesting that we be careless, Master," his Padawan replied, and even though he couldn't see her face, she sounded slightly hurt. "I merely remember the route you took earlier and I'm asking that you trust me."

Obi-Wan exhaled deeply and nodded, knowing that even though she couldn't see him, she'd sense his resignation.

The majestic Temple came into view and Obi-Wan saw his Padawan's shoulders ease slightly. Every Jedi fighting in this war must feel the same emotion, the same joy every time they were this close to home.

The four splendid, soaring spires and the dominant central tower eased every burden and soon, the Council would hear about Grievous's latest devious plans.

Obi-Wan glanced at the other racing speeders. Coruscant's citizens were going to work, were searching for a restaurant or diner for a late lunch, were maybe visiting a nearby friend or relative. Life was going on.

Everything was so sheltered here; it was so far away from all the planets engulfed in the Clone Wars. He found it astounding and intriguing that all these citizens were so..._normal_.

Obi-Wan knew that starting panic was one of the worst case scenarios of this war, it spread like fire and could consume societies faster than even the Separatists.

But being here, being around people leisurely driving around a city and yelling curses at rude drivers instead of being in the front lines of a battle with destroyed droids and clone corpses everywhere was so incredibly unusual. And refreshing.

Now, Jaina was racing through the Administration Sector, swerving between rows and rows of offices housing the thousands of workers who helped keep the Republic functioning.

That was when Obi-Wan felt the violent tremor in the Force, a swift strike of emotion that was very familiar to him and those in a battlefield. Terror, hatred, triumph and rage were to name a few.

Abrupt and overwhelming, it came from _nowhere_ then _everywhere_ at once.

Jaina threw him a frantic look over her shoulder. "Master, what's happeni—"

Then the explosions came.

The blinding light forced him to instinctively shut his eyes as he struggled with his disbelief. Coruscant? How the blazes did the Separatists bomb Capital City? Deafening screams echoed from all over.

His Padawan was swerving madly, avoiding other swerving airspeeders and plummeting debris. He could sense her trying to break through her disorientation. Obi-Wan would have felt more comfortable if he was the one driving but he trusted his Padawan. All she needed was _focus_.

"Jaina!" he yelled. "Right!"

Jaina veered right, narrowly avoiding a crashing airbus full of screaming passengers. She plunged downwards, steering clear of an out-of-control airspeeder set ablaze. The shock waves finally reached them, sending their citibike spiraling with Jaina desperately trying to regain her control.

She was a brilliant starfighter pilot and squadron commander, but navigating through a panic-driven lane with a blazing inferno below them was an entirely different story.

The traffic lanes of Galactic City had somehow become another intense battlefield. It seemed impossible but the screaming civilians and blazing buildings made the impossible a hideous reality. They lost sight of the blue sky and were now engulfed in smoke, debris and swerving airspeeders.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, the staggering backlash of all the sudden deaths threatening to overwhelm him. There were so _many_. And they were _all_ civilians. How many children had been made orphans in the past minutes? How many widows had the past swift seconds created?

"Master—" Jaina screeched, veering narrowly out of the way of a plummeting balcony.

"Keep it together, Padawan," Obi-Wan yelled sharply. "Turn right at the next alley and—"

A fourth explosion rocked the area, flinging the citibike end over end and sending scorching heat towards them.

While Obi-Wan held on to the other end of their seat, Jaina attempted to hang on to the front of the bike, her face twisted with as much fear as he'd ever seen. The second set of shockwaves came and both he and his Padawan lost their grip.

Helplessly tumbling half a meter away from his Padawan, Obi-Wan Force-pushed the wretched citibike away from them as it plummeted to ground.

"_Master!_" Jaina shrieked, pointing to something behind him. Before Obi-Wan could turn his head around, he was struck by another out-of-control airbus filled with frightened passengers.

The pain was excruciating, but only for a minute. His vision blurred and he lost sight of his Padawan. He felt a detached and baffled anger as he slowly lost consciousness. This couldn't be right, but somehow, it had happened. He continued to fall, until everything around him turned completely black.

* * *

"_Obi-Wan!_" Someone was yelling. "_Obi-Wan! It's me. It's Anakin. Don't move._"

How could he possible move? "Anakin…?"

Obi-Wan blinked several times, attempting to clear his vision. Indeed, his young protégé was leaning inches away from him, his face twisted in terror.

"Don't talk," Anakin said. "I'm going to call for help, okay?"

"Anakin…"

"I'm right here. Don't worry, Obi-Wan, I'm right here," he said, backing away slowly and Force-pulling his comlink from a nearby airspeeder. Stang, where were they? And where was—?

"Anakin," Obi-Wan snapped sharply, tapping on his remaining reserves of energy. "Where's Jaina?"

"Jaina?" Anakin asked, puzzled at first, then as the realization dawned on him he looked upon his former Master with dread. "Jaina was with you?"

Obi-Wan attempted to sit painfully. "She was right in front of me—"

"Obi-Wan, _don't move_!" Anakin exclaimed loudly. "Listen to me, I'll find Jaina, but you'll do her no good by moving!"

He gave up and retained his painful position on the ground. Every inch of his body was aching, and he felt as heavy as durasteel. The vague memory of an incoming airbus registered in the back of his mind. Obi-Wan groaned. "Blast, I think I'm hurt."

"No kidding," Anakin murmured wryly. "This is Anakin Skywalker," he said into his comlink. "I need Master Yoda."

"_Master Yoda is in an emergency Council session and cannot be—"_

"Get him now, you idiot!" Anakin bellowed furiously. "Do you hear me?! _Get him now!_"

Would the boy ever learn his manners? "Temper, temper, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly. "No need to shout."

Anakin smiled at him with false sweetness. "Don't be a spoilsport, Master. You know I like to throw my weight around."

Some things would just always remain the same. Obi-Wan exhaled, resigned, and smiled weakly. As he did, he felt a faint stinging in his mouth and a few drops of blood slid down to his beard. His cheek felt stiff with dry blood and the pain worsened.

Anakin, looking even more anxious as he watched the blood trickle, returned to his side. "Besides, I told you to be quiet," he scolded, kneeling next to him. "I think it's about time you started listening to me."

"Don't be bossy," Obi-Wan said, trying to pull himself to a sitting position. An excruciating pain erupted in his abdomen and he gasped, lying back down. He lay completely still. "There was an explosion…"

"There were four," Anakin said flatly. "Please, Obi-Wan. _Shut up_."

"I think I've broken something," Obi-Wan muttered, feeling restless. Everywhere in his body, there was pain. His whole world at the moment revolved around pain. "No. Make that several somethings." He glanced down and saw the rest of his body for the first time.

His tunic was torn, charred and absolutely soaked with blood. His limbs were awkwardly twisted and he was lying on his side, facing Anakin. "Well, that's not good."

Anakin reached out with his flesh hand and touched it to Obi-Wan's forehead. He grimaced and recoiled. "Ice-cold…" he murmured quietly to himself. "You're fine, Master. You're going to be fine."

"_Anakin Skywalker, Master Yoda this is_," said a voice from Anakin's comlink.

Anakin sighed in relief and he lifted the comlink. "Master Yoda, I need help. I'm with Obi-Wan. He's hurt. Really hurt. And his Padawan is still missing. The attack."

"_Find his Padawan and bring them to the Temple, can you?_"

"No, I don't dare move him. I need a healer. I need lots of healers. Can you come? Can you hurry?"

"_Where are you, young Skywalker?_"

Anakin looked around. "I don't know. The administration sector. On a rooftop."

"_Your comlink leave open. Find you we will_."

"Yes. Good. Now hurry, please!"

Anakin clipped his comlink back to his belt and Obi-Wan faintly felt his consciousness slipping. "_Liar_," he whispered. "You said I was fine."

"And you will be," Anakin snapped fiercely. "But Obi-Wan, you need to save your strength." He stood back up. "I'll search for Jaina. That girl can survive anything, I'm sure she's fine too."

"Find her, Anakin," Obi-Wan said firmly, thinking back those vital seconds before the airbus hit. "Find her."

"I will," Anakin said, looking Obi-Wan in the eye with that steadfast glint he'd seen so many times already. "I promise."

"Anakin…"

Anakin looked at him again, his face betraying the true anxieties that lay beneath his usual tough exterior.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan repeated. "Listen."

"No, _you_ listen," he said, kneeling back down and leaning closer. "Yoda's coming, with healers. You have to stay _quiet_, you have to—"

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said weakly. He was tired, so incredibly _tired_ and he didn't have the time for this. "It's important."

Anakin didn't say anything, and for the next following moments, the only sounds were the nearby sirens and cries of the citizens of Coruscant. If he didn't hurry, if _they all_ didn't hurry, Bothawui would suffer the same fate.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly, all his strength failing him. "Tell Yoda that Dex's message was about Grievous. He's after Bothawui."

"_Bothawui?_" Anakin demanded, shocked. "No. If Grievous gets Bothawui—"

"I know," Obi-Wan said, shutting his eyes for a moment and focusing on surpassing the incredible pain. "Anakin, tell Yoda. And find my Padawan, _please_."

Why did his body have to succumb to weakness now of all times? His Padawan needed him, Anakin needed him, every sentient being on Bothawui needed him.

This all seemed like a dream, a terrible nightmare. Bothawui had to be saved. But how could he possibly defend the planet when he was here, on a rooftop, barely able to move? This was unacceptable. Maybe he could continue to push himself for just a little while longer…

"You can tell him yourself, as soon as he gets here," Anakin said, standing back up and surveying the nearby wreckage.

His face betrayed shock for a moment, then terror as he ran to the front of the citibike's ruins only a meter away from where Obi-Wan lay. Anakin knelt down urgently.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan started, already losing his precious grip on consciousness. "I don't think I can—I'm not sure I can…wait…or stay…awake…" He murmured.

Then Anakin turned around from where he knelt, looking even more panicked than before. His normally clear eyes were wide and fearful, and his mouth was slightly agape in disbelief. "Master…" he gasped, turning back to the debris.

In the silence of the rooftop, one dreadful sound registered in Obi-Wan's mind.

Quiet, fearful, pain-filled sobbing.

And before Obi-Wan fell back into the dark abyss, his heart raced, and the image that filled his mind was a terrible one, even more terrible than seeing his Padawan battle Grievous.

Because here Jaina was now, lying awkwardly on her side in a pool of blood, her pale, wounded face afraid and almost hysterical, with her legs buried underneath the wreckage of the ruined citibike.

* * *

**A/N: Don't you just love cliff-hangers? :D**

**Game3525: Thanks so much! I'm always worried about accidentally making her stick out, that's been one of my anxieties when I started this story, so thanks!**

**BenKeto1415: Hehe thanks! :D**

**Darth Sith'ari: Thanks for reading the story and reviewing, hope this answers your question :)**

**For everyone's information, this all happens before the TV episodes **_**Downfall of a Droid**_** and **_**Duel of the Droids**_**, where Anakin is already saving Bothawui. It's never mentioned in the episode where Obi-Wan is or what he's doing, but it is the plot of a novel called **_**Wild Space**_** by Karen Miller. This chapter and its succeeding ones are based on her plot, with a few changes and Jaina inserted into it :D **

**Thanks for the reviews, I really appreciate comments and expect the next chapter pretty soon, it's almost done too. May the Force be with you :)**


	16. Broken

Chapter 15 – Broken

"Jaina," Master Anakin called urgently from inches away. "Keep it together; you're going to be fine."

_I'm going to be fine?!_ Jaina thought incredulously. _How can I possibly be _fine?!

She'd lost all feeling in her legs minutes ago, her abdomen felt as though someone had set it ablaze and her head was throbbing so painfully that she could hardly focus. This was just about as far from _fine_ as Tatooine was from Coruscant.

"Bothawui," she murmured, shutting her eyes and stopping any more tears that threatened to fall. "Bothawui, Bothawui, Bothawui—"

"I know," Anakin said gently. "Your master already told me, I know."

"Where is he?" She demanded abruptly. "What happened to him?"

"Relax, Jaina, calm down, Obi-Wan is…" he seemed to struggle for the right words.

"Is he…_fine_…too?" Jaina asked quietly, attempting to slow her rapid breathing and surveying the nearby area with her eyes.

"He's…asleep…" Anakin said, whipping his head around to look at something, or _someone_, and turning back to her. "He'll be fine, you both will. But you need to stop moving and calm down."

"I can't…breathe…properly," she whispered, cringing deeply. "I hit something…"

"You fell from a citibike from who-knows-how-many-stories up," Anakin said wryly. "I think it's safe to say you hit something, now please stop moving, do as your master did, and _shut_ _up_."

Jaina let out a sarcastic half-smile and flinched again, feeling a deep cut along her cheek. "Sorry…shutting up now…"

"Just hang on," he said urgently. "The healers are on their way, they'll be here soon, hang on, Jaina."

She winced, the excruciating pain in her abdomen intensifying. "I'm…trying…" Jaina shut her mouth, feeling the metallic taste of blood inside.

Anakin whipped his head around a second time, his face displaying incredible relief.

"Stand back, young Skywalker," said the familiar voice of Master Yoda. "Done well you have. Die they will not."

Jaina was utterly shocked as she saw tears rolling down Anakin's cheeks as he nodded. She _never _thought someone as tough and seemingly indestructible as Master Anakin would be in the same sentence as _weep_.

"Die, they will _not_," Yoda emphasized and the diminutive Jedi Master came into view, standing next to Anakin in front of her.

Jaina faintly felt embarrassed, being in this situation in front of the Order's greatest Master. But the pain continued to intensify and she closed her eyes, the embarrassment overshadowed by her determination to prevent herself from screaming.

Three pairs of firm hands landed on both of her arms and Master Yoda gestured with his own hand, Force-pushing the citibike's rubble away with ease. Someone had fit a tourniquet around her legs.

Jaina closed her eyes again, feeling a slight irritation at all the hands sweeping her forehead, her arms and the rest of her body. When she opened her eyes, one of the healers, a Twi'lek, muttered something and the other two nodded.

In one swift, synchronized motion, they turned Jaina over until she was fully on her back, causing a fresh pain to erupt from _everywhere_ at once. More tears spilled out from her eyes, mixing with the blood and sweat, and Jaina cried out, a strangled, high-pitched noise of terrible pain that barely sounded human even to her.

"_Master_!" Anakin exclaimed incredulously at the healer who had instructed the others to turn her over.

"Young Skywalker, can you give me just a minute of—"

Jaina cried out again, her entire body trembling.

"_She's convulsing_!" Anakin exclaimed, horrified.

"Concussion," the healer said, methodically pinning Jaina's arms to the cold ground. "Jaina, can you hear me? Focus on my voice, Padawan Knightrunner, _focus_."

Jaina shut her eyes, feeling as though the voice was coming from miles and miles away. A drum continued to pound ruthlessly inside her head. "Help—" Was all she managed to whimper, wanting desperately to break free of this unbearable personal hell she was trapped in.

More hands gently but firmly grasped her body, one pair slipping something cold on her forehead. Where was her Master? Why couldn't he save her this time? Why couldn't _anyone_ save her?

She'd lost control of everything; the citibike, her fragile self-restraint and now her own _body_. Jaina faintly felt hot tears streaming relentlessly down her wounded cheek, causing it to sting, as she continued to shake violently on the icy, bloodied, permacrete ground, powerless to stop any of this.

She felt her stomach constricting, thought her head was already going to explode. Her shoulder was extremely sore, her wrist continuing to throb. She wanted to scream, to _die_, but her burning, agonizing chest made her well aware that she was alive. No mortal body could take this much, especially not her own teenage one.

_SOMEBODY HELP ME!_ She longed to cry out.

Unable to find her voice and muster another scream, Jaina continued to convulse, gasped desperately for breath and felt as though the voices around her grew even farther and farther away.

She opened her eyes one last time, gazing at the hazy figures in front of her, silently pleading for all this to end.

Finally, the Force was showing some mercy.

Jaina vaguely felt relief as her heavy eyes slid closed. All the pain faded, the figures disappeared, the voices were reduced to complete silence and the dark abyss called out to her. Jaina fell into the nothingness, grateful that this was all over.

She was saved.

* * *

Jaina unwillingly left the black void, feeling afloat and extremely disconnected. She felt adrift, as though she was staring at her cage of a body from some place far, far away.

There was no pain, only a faint echo of it. And as she floated across the bright, white plane that had replaced her black void, vague memories flashed.

_She was driving, the majestic Jedi Temple already finally coming into view. Her master was sitting behind her, tense and ready for anything, but also enjoying the few moments of peace that were now so incredibly rare. Then the surge in the Force. _

_The screams. The explosions. _

_And suddenly her Master was yelling directions, she was swerving around desperately. But it was too late. Another explosion. The flames leaping towards them. A rooftop getting closer. This was going to _hurt. _She was falling. Death was beckoning to her. _

Jaina took in a gasp of breath, earning a swift, stab of pain in her chest. Was she dead?

_The permacrete rooftop she'd landed on was now soaked with blood. Sirens were blazing, screams were echoing. The pain was consuming her. She was violently shaking on the cruel ground_.

Jaina thrashed weakly on the rooftop, the memory so fresh that it was almost real. Only the rooftop was now soft. And warm. Everything was completely silent.

"Jaina?" An indistinct voice called out to her from somewhere in her white nothingness.

_I'm here_, she wanted to cry out. _And I think I'm dying, somebody,_ help _me_!

The pain was back, she was on the rooftop, frantically surveying the area for that voice. It was gentle, it was anxious; it belonged to somebody who could help her. Everything in her body was aching.

"Jaina, please," the voice continued to slur. "Please, Padawan, wake up."

_MASTER! _Jaina tried to yell, but her throat was constrained, her stomach burning. _I am awake! Help me!_

"I need to know that you're alive."

It was soft, miserable. A tone that she never, _ever_ heard or expected to hear from her master. She wanted to open her eyes, to let him know she was alive, or at least all this agony lead her to _think_ she was, death couldn't be _this_ uncomfortable, but her eyes were as heavy as durasteel.

"Jaina."

Jaina called on the Force for help and forced herself to find the strength to open her eyes. She awoke to a blurry, bright light. This was _not_ her rooftop.

There were high ceilings, pale walls and something rather irritating was strapped around her nose and mouth. She was in the Halls of Healing.

Sitting on a bed almost directly beside her own was Master Obi-Wan, his hand on her shoulder, his gaze distressed and concerned. She brought her gaze higher and saw Master Anakin, looking extremely relieved, and Ahsoka, her wide eyes utterly stunned, standing nearby.

"Master," Jaina croaked. She was surprised at how soft her own voice was.

"Don't talk, Jaina," Obi-Wan hushed. "You were very badly hurt in the terrorist explosions."

"You both were," Anakin corrected, raising an eyebrow at his former Master. Obi-Wan pursed his lips and nodded stiffly.

Jaina closed her eyes. "What's…the damage?" She asked, exhausted.

Hesitant silence.

"_What's the damage?_" Jaina repeated flatly, opening her eyes again.

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan with an odd expression, was that reluctance?

"A few cuts and bruises," Obi-Wan said, turning to look at the floor and choosing not to meet her gaze. "A bit of scorching. A cut here and there."

"_And?_" She prodded.

"And a couple of broken bones."

Jaina glared at her master. "That's…not just it, Master…I think we both…know that…Give it to me _straight_."

"Broken wrist," Obi-Wan started hesitantly. "Almost completely shattered leg, fractured knee cap, broken shoulder, severely sprained ankle. Five broken ribs. Punctured lung. Severe concussion. A couple of internal organs jostled a bit but you_ really _don't need the details to that."

"Thanks…don't want them." Jaina grimaced. "That explains it."

"We got the healers to you in time, Jaina," Anakin said. "They're the best of the best. And you're alive, that's all that matters."

"Yeah," Ahsoka chirped cheerfully. "You'll be up and whooping droids to scrap metal in no time."

_Has she always been this cheerful, or am I really just this dull?_ Jaina wondered to herself, flashing a half smile to Ahsoka since she had no desire to hurt her feelings today.

"And if it makes you feel any better," Anakin said, tilting his head in Obi-Wan's direction, "he's in no better shape."

Obi-Wan sighed. "We could be here a while, Jaina."

"How long…has it been…already?" Jaina asked, attempting to sit up, flinching deeply and allowing herself to be pushed back down gently by her Master.

"It's already been a couple of days," he replied, laying a hand on her forehead and sighing before dropping it back on his lap. "We _are_ healing, but it's going to take some more time."

Jaina's eyes widened and she attempted to sit up again, crying out as she did so with everything disappearing and turning into pain.

"_Jaina_!" All three people in the room exclaimed at once, her Master gently trying to push her back to the mattress, Anakin and Ahsoka rushing to the other side of the bed.

"What about...Bothawui?" Jaina demanded, her hands tightly clenched into fists to prevent herself from screaming. "_What about the...Bothans?! We _have_ to save them!_"

"Jaina!" Anakin said sternly, helping his former Master until Jaina was flat on the mattress with her head on the pillows, "if you continue to push yourself, you'll get a relapse."

"Did _anyone_ get...Dex's message...about Bothawui?!" Jaina asked.

"Yes, Padawan, _everyone_ did," Obi-Wan said, gently pulling a lock of hair off her face. "The Council is sending a battle group to intercept Grievous at Bothawui. The group will be led by Anakin with his new flagship, the _Resolute_."

Obi-Wan gave Anakin the slightest of glances and Jaina thought she caught something, remorse?

"Oh," Jaina murmured, disappointed and slightly depressed even. "Oh."

Anakin's wrist comm beeped. "It's Yularen and Rex," he murmured. "Time to go, Snips. Come on." He gave Jaina and Obi-Wan a piercing look. "You two better _take it easy_. If I hear you're trying to even walk across the hall when you're not supposed to—"

"Yes, Master Anakin," Jaina said wryly, quirking her mouth in the only half-smile she could manage. "May the Force be with you."

Anakin gripped her uninjured shoulder briefly then clasped Obi-Wan's arm before making his way to the exit. "And with you."

Ahsoka flashed a crooked grin at Jaina and bowed at Obi-Wan before trotting after her Master.

Ahsoka and Anakin left the room, leaving Jaina to sigh and play with her fingers. "This is the part where I apologize, isn't it?" She asked quietly.

Obi-Wan looked startled. "For what?"

"For driving recklessly, not paying attention to any warnings through the Force, for not flying any better and avoiding the plummeting debris, the list goes on..."

"Padawan, I hope it's clear to you that none of this was your fault," Obi-Wan said gently.

"You don't have to let me off easy, I was driving," Jaina said flatly.

"Yes, but we had no idea those explosions were going to happen, did you know?"

"No, of course I didn't, but—"

A quiet knock on the door interrupted their almost-argument, and an impatient, anxious Gaspard shyly poked his head in. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No, Padawan Loahin, you may come in," Obi-Wan said with an inaudible sigh. "Not too long, Jaina, get some rest," he said sternly before laying back down, pulling the blanket over his head and falling asleep.

Jaina actually beamed for the first time since the accident. "Gaspard."

He took three large footsteps and was suddenly at the foot of her bed. "I'm so sorry, I just got back and I kept coming to visit, but they wouldn't let me in 'til now."

"It's all right, it might've...been useless if you visited sooner, I've been…under the weather."

"I know, I heard about all your injuries," he said with a wince. "No wonder you look like death's door."

Jaina frowned. "Uh, thanks."

"It's my job to be honest, isn't it?" he said wryly. "I have to say, you've got a new record."

Jaina chuckled briefly, subtly clutching her stomach and ignoring the stings. "You can...say that again."

"How're you feeling?" Gaspard asked, sitting on the side of her bed and laying a gentle hand on her own atop her stomach. He thought better of it and pulled it back. "Any better?"

Jaina wrinkled her nose. "I feel like a slab of durasteel, but hey, I'm not complaining. At least I'm alive…ish."

Gaspard laughed and Jaina's spirits lifted at the sound of laughter. "Yeah, not many people have the same hard head you do to survive a fall like that."

"Wow and this...this coming from you."

Gaspard grinned. "I'm glad you're not dead, Jaina," he said seriously. "Even if you're just alive…_ish_. "

"And hopefully the _ish_...will be gone in no time," Jaina said, wishing she could smile back, but she didn't trust her body just yet. "I don't like meeting like this."

"Right, you prefer the middle of a battlefield with droids in every direction."

Jaina almost grinned. Almost. "Something like that."

"You're probably not allowed to eat this yet, and Master Che will kill me if she found out, but I thought you'd need something to cheer you up in here," Gaspard said, surreptitiously pulling something out of his robe, leaving it on her bed side table and giving her a scheming wink.

Jaina gazed at the table and saw a transparent pack containing a delicious-looking slice of cake with filling oozing out from the middle and cream and sprinkles on top. It was a favorite she shared with Gaspard.

This time, she did smile at him. "Thanks, Gaspard...That's just what I needed."

Gaspard patted her hand gently, his warm palm sending shivers up her spine. "Get better, Jaina," he said, gazing at her with his blue-green eyes. "I'll see you around."

"Take care," she said quietly. "I'll see you around."

Gaspard smiled and winked at her again before exiting their room. Jaina blew out a long exhale and leaned back on her pillows.

Another knock broke into her thoughts. _How many people are visiting…?_

"Yes?" she called out, half a groan. All she wanted now was to eat her cake and sleep.

"Jaina?" Ximea's quiet voice said from the main hall.

Jaina sighed. _More visitors_. "Come in."

The Twi-lek healer who'd saved her on the rooftop, Jaina guessed this was Master Che, escorted Ximea and Callista in. "You only have a few minutes. Your friend needs her rest."

Jaina subtly moved her blanket to attempt to intercept Master Che's view of her cake. "Morning. If it...even is morning."

Of course, nothing could be hidden from the veteran Healer. She glared at Jaina and shook her head in a sigh. "Padawan Knightrunner, tell me that isn't cake on your table."

"Um, that isn't cake on my table…?"

Master Che irritably walked to her table and snatched the cake away. "I'm sorry, Padawan Knightrunner, but your digestive system is not quite ready for that amount of sugar just yet."

Jaina pursed her lips and frowned. "All right."

"Your visitors have _5 minutes_," she said sharply to Ximea and Callista, walking out and taking Jaina's happiness with her.

"Sorry," Ximea said, wincing. "I didn't know you were stashing cake in here."

"It's fine," Jaina grumbled.

"Well, look at you," Callista slurred with a smirk. "You're beautiful."

Jaina scowled. "What are you two doing here? I need my sleep."

"Sorry," Ximea said quickly. "Didn't mean to bug you, but we've been so worried, right, Callista?"

"Huh?" Callista asked, looking up from her curls. "What'd you say?"

Jaina rolled her eyes. "If you don't mind...maybe you can visit...some other time when I haven't...just been blown up days before," she snapped.

"Sorry again," Ximea said, stung. "Get well soon, Jaina."

"You should keep that look, it suits you," Callista murmured. "And I'll remember to call you when I need someone to fly me to my death."

"Please do," Jaina snarled, enraged. "I'll be happy to."

"Jaina?" Obi-Wan asked, apparently awake, and pulling his blanket off his head, concerned. "Everything all right?"

"Just fine, Master Kenobi," Callista purred. "Your Padawan should get blown up more often, don't you agree, Jaina?"

Jaina clutched her blankets tightly, feeling her fury rise. "I agree, Callista," she hissed harshly through her teeth, her chest tightening. "And maybe next time I'll take you with me."

Obi-Wan sat down on his bed, glaring severely at Callista. "I think it's time you left, Padawan Starr. Your master will hear of this."

"My apologies, Master Kenobi," she said mockingly. "What for, Jaina? You don't need my assistance to drive yourself into a blazing inferno. You're already _so_ good at that."

Jaina clenched her hands into fists, twisting the blanket. "And this…is coming…from _you?!_ You haven't gone…on a single kriffing mission…since this war started because…you're such a _coward!_"

Obi-Wan rapidly shifted to Jaina's bed, laying restraining hands on her uninjured shoulder and wrist. "Listen to me, just breathe, Jaina, calm down," he said gently before snapping, "_Leave!_" At her visitors.

"If this…is all…because I didn't say goodbye…" Jaina growled through chattering teeth, "then here…is my…_permanent_ goodbye…_Now GET OUT!_"

"What the blazes is going on in here?!" Master Che demanded furiously, barging in. "I told you two not to aggravate her! _What have you done?! Out of my way!_" She moved like a whirlwind, shoving a stunned Ximea and a smirking Callista out the door and suddenly ending up on the other side of her bed.

"Jaina, calm down," Obi-Wan said, managing to be stern and anxious at the same time.

Jaina managed a stiff nod, her face twisting as she returned to her rooftop, everything around her disappearing in waves of pain. She shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip until it hurt; she was back in the unbearable hell, every inch of her healing body burning.

Jaina blinked, feeling something cold being pressed against her chest and she saw Master Vokara Che holding a dull green healing crystal there.

The crystal pulsed, a tiny emerald light and slowly, Jaina's pain began to lessen. She was so incredibly exhausted. "Master…?"

"Be still, Jaina," he murmured gently, laying his cold hand on her burning forehead. "Sleep."

"Listen to your master," Master Che said sharply. "Get some sleep."

Jaina blinked, black beginning to creep in at the edges of her hazy vision. The two Jedi sounded far away again. She closed her heavy eyelids, pleading to the Force that this would all be over as soon as she woke up.

* * *

**A/N: Jeez, writing all this angsty stuff can get so tiring LOL. Hope you all are still out there! I appreciate reviews :)**

**ClassicalBrunette: Yup! Quick updates are going to be frequent now :D **

**BenKeto1415: I like cliffhangers :D **


	17. A Dark Conspiracy

Chapter 16 - A Dark Conspiracy

Quiet murmuring brought Jaina back from the peaceful world of slumber. She blinked slowly and lifted herself off the pillow, carefully pulling all the wires off her head and slipping out of the oxygen mask.

Obi-Wan was propped up to a sitting position by a huge mound of pillows in his bed next to hers, and he was conversing quietly with Master Che.

"Good morning, Jaina," the healer said kindly.

"Morning," she replied with a small smile, carefully propping herself up on her elbows. "What's happening?"

"Well, we're technically fully healed," Obi-Wan said carefully, "and we're free to leave the Halls of Healing, but we need the approval of the Council before we can be sent on a mission. How are you feeling?"

"Better," Jaina said genuinely, taking in a breath and sitting up fully. "Let me guess, it's been days?"

"Two, almost three," Master Che replied impassively. "The miracle of bacta, Healing Crystals and trances. Your entire body is back to its original state, we were able to fully heal your skeletal and organ systems already, but I can't be sure if either of you are ready to endure battle stress. Only you know the answer to that."

She inclined her head and made her way to the door.

"Master Che," Jaina called quietly before she was out. The healer turned around. "Thanks for everything. Saving my life and all," she murmured with a sheepish smile.

"My pleasure, Jaina," Master Che said, smiling gently. "May the Force be with you both. And I _really_ hope I don't see you two here again soon."

Jaina grinned and Obi-Wan chuckled as she exited. "I really hope so too," he remarked.

"Excuse me," said a shy, hushed voice from the doorway. Jaina directed her gaze there and saw a female Mon Calamarian Padawan not much younger than she was. "I'm sorry to disturb you both, but a Senator Amidala has requested to speak with Master Kenobi."

Jaina lifted her eyebrows a fraction. "That's unusual," she remarked, Force-pulling her master's comlink from his belt on a nearby chair and tossing it to him. "What do you think is going on?"

Obi-Wan stared at the comlink for a couple of seconds, looking uneasy, cautious and still shocked. "I don't know," he murmured, lifting his comlink and switching it on. "Senator Amidala? This is Obi-Wan Kenobi. How can I assist you?"

"_Master Kenobi, I wonder if you could spare me a little of your time. Something's come up and I'd appreciate your advice_."

Jaina met her Master's perturbed gaze and shrugged.

"Of course," he replied into the comlink. "Did you wish to come to the Temple or—"

"_If you could come to me at my home I'd be most grateful," _the Senator said quickly._ "Now would be convenient, if that's convenient for you_."

"Certainly, Senator," Obi-Wan replied evenly. "My Padawan and I will be with you shortly."

Jaina's eyes widened. "I get to come?" she mouthed.

"_Thank you, Master Kenobi_," Amidala said, disconnecting the link.

"When did you ever _not_ 'get to come', Jaina?" her master asked, setting down the comlink on a nearby table.

She shrugged, her cheeks burning. "I don't know. I just figured since...well, I kind of...I mean, I messed up pretty badly the last time and—"

"Jaina, you didn't mess up."

"I flew us right into _four_ explosions, I think that counts as messing up," she said quietly. "Master, if you had been flying—"

"If I had been flying, Padawan, we would be in exactly the same situation," Obi-Wan said, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Or even worse, who knows?"

"I don't believe that," Jaina said quietly, sighing. "Senator Amidala is awaiting your presence."

Obi-Wan exhaled deeply at the abrupt change in topic, but Jaina was glad not to have to talk at all. He nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Jaina felt her insides churn as her master swung their airspeeder to a perfect halt behind a sleeker, more expensive model. And for some reason he always reprimanded _her_ when she drove like that. Not that she'd ever fly again anytime soon, she'd already vehemently refused to fly now.

It was a strange feeling, being back on her feet and out of the infirmary. She was in a loose-fitting, beige tunic, with her hair neatly pulled back into a braid.

The only reminders of the horrific previous days were the tightly wrapped bandages around her leg and her shoulder and the slight pain whenever she used her left leg too much. A thin, pink line still ran across her cheek, along with an unusual rosy blush that she wanted desperately to disappear.

Though she wouldn't admit to anyone, even to herself, the abnormal feeling of fatigue lingered. She didn't know if it was from all the days she spent unconscious and in the healing trance, or if it was the first permanent damage thrust upon her by this war. Either way, she was determined to gain her old self back.

Obi-Wan leapt to the veranda, Jaina almost stumbling as she struggled to catch up. The healers were right, she hardly felt like herself at all even if she _was_ fully healed. There was no way she could defend herself from the Seps like this.

"What is it?" her master demanded of the Senator, who was waiting for them alone a few meters away. "Have you heard from Anakin?"

She was staring at him. "No. Why would I have heard from Anakin? He—I don't even know where Anakin is, Obi-Wan."

Jaina stared at the floor, feeling as though she was intruding and hearing things she shouldn't. Her Master looked embarrassed, relieved and annoyed at the same time. Then he regained his familiar self-control.

"I'm sorry," he said. "A misunderstanding, Senator. I thought that—you sounded concerned over the comlink and I—" Obi-Wan stared at her hand on his arm.

"You're worried for him," Amidala said, leaving her hand where it was. "Is he in trouble?"

"Padmé—Senator, I can't. It's not appropriate that I--" Obi-Wan shook his head and Jaina felt shocked and anxious that her master seemed so helpless. "I can't."

This was something personal. Jaina wondered why she was even here. She shifted to her weight to her left foot briefly, her right already beginning to tire out, grimaced, and shifted back to the right.

"Can't what?" The Senator asked softly, withdrawing her hand. "Admit that you're worried? Of course you can. I'm not Yoda. I'm not Mace Windu. I don't think caring for someone is a crime. _Is Anakin in trouble?_"

Obi-Wan continued holding up his stoic exterior. "He's on a mission," he said at last. "I can't tell you where or what it is. But it's not proving as straightforward as we'd hoped. We'd thought to have heard from him by this morning…but we haven't."

"Is he hurt?" She asked quietly.

"No," Obi-Wan said quickly, vehemently even. "Just…challenged. This mission is important, a great deal depends on its success. We should be there with him, he shouldn't be facing it alone, but our injuries—we were prevented from…"

Her master was incoherent. It seemed impossible since he was always extremely articulate, even in the face of death. It made her look up to him more. How was this happening? Had the explosions affected him permanently too?

"It's not your fault, Obi-Wan," the Senator said gently. "You both were nearly killed. Although…" her gaze swept them up and down. "It seems you've made a remarkable recovery."

"The Temple healers are very skilled," Obi-Wan said, shrugging. "I don't think you've formally met my Padawan, this is Jaina."

Jaina bowed awkwardly, still stunned at this entire situation. "Senator Amidala."

"It's nice to meet you, Jaina," the Senator said with a smile. "You did an outstanding job in the _Malevolence_ all those months ago, I'm glad to see you're fine and back on your feet after those horrible explosions."

_Technically speaking, I'm actually back on my _foot, she thought wryly. _And_ _I look fine? I must be a better actress than I imagined. _

Her master raised an eyebrow at her and Jaina smiled shyly. "Thank you, Senator."

"Padmé, why are we here?" Obi-Wan asked.

Amidala glanced over her shoulder briefly. "I have a visitor, Obi-Wan. Senator Bail Organa of Alderaaan. He claims to have received word of a planned attack against you…by the Sith."

Jaina stiffened, felt her master flash-freeze to ice too. Suddenly, in the split-second that passed, he became Obi-Wan Kenobi, brilliant Jedi Master and exceptional general, instead of just Master Obi-Wan.

The area around them crackled with power and she felt her skin prickling. It was times like these she was glad to be his Padawan instead of one of those _doomed_ Separatists.

"I've told him nothing," Amidala said quickly, stepping back in shock. "Whatever he knows, his contact told him."

"_What contact_?" Obi-Wan demanded. "What precisely does Senator Organa know?"

"You'll have to ask him that," she said. "He came to me because the Jedi don't know him very well. Because he trusts me, and he knows you trust me too."

Outwardly, her master was doing nothing, but Jaina felt his terrible aspect ease. Her skin stopped prickling. "And do you trust him?" he asked.

"I do," Amidala said. "He's a good man, Obi-Wan. He loves the Republic. He works as hard as any Jedi to see it safe."

Jaina looked up at her master and saw the faintest of disdain in his clear, blue eyes. "He's a politician, Padmé."

She raised an eyebrow. "So am I. Isn't that your biggest problem with me?"

Something flashed across her master's face briefly, almost as though there was an unspoken secret the two adults were sharing silently. She didn't want to know.

"You're a lot more than a mere politician," he said after moments passed and he smiled reluctantly. "As we both know.

"A compliment?" The Senator said, feigning shock. "From Obi-Wan Kenobi? You should warn me next time, Obi-Wan, give me a chance to sit down first."

Jaina grinned and almost laughed.

Obi-Wan didn't rise to the bait. "It's odd, but now that I think of it, Padmé, you've encountered the Sith as often as I have," he murmured, frowning. "Almost as if they're as interested in you as they are in us."

"Don't say things like that," she said shivering.

"This threat," Obi-Wan continued, his eyes apologizing, "do you find it plausible?"

"I don't know the details," she said. "I don't know Bail's contact. But for what little it's worth, Obi-Wan…I do know him well enough to promise he doesn't scare easily. And he's not a gullible fool, either, to fall for any old story."

"I see," her master said, sighing. "Very well, then. Let's hear what Senator Organa has to say."

* * *

"They call themselves the Friends of the Republic," Senator from Alderaan said. "They first contacted me a little over four years ago. At the time, the Alderaan government was in negotiations with Chandrila for a joint mining venture on Aridus. My wife's family has connections to the Corporate Sector, and some of those connections were involved with the project. The information provided by this group helped avert a diplomatic and humanitarian disaster that would have engulfed not only Alderaan and Chandrila, but several other key Republic systems as well."

From her position standing behind her master, Jaina saw him frown. "And they did so because they are friends of the Republic?" Obi-Wan asked skeptically, almost sarcastically.

"And because they would have been directly impacted by the resulting scandal if the mining venture had been allowed to continue as planned."

"In other words," Obi-Wan said, "they were motivated by personal gain."

"I don't deny enlightened self-interest was a factor," Organa said mildly. "But it's also true that many lives and livelihoods were saved by their intervention. After all, self-preservation isn't a crime."

"And they assumed you would also act out of enlightened self-interest?"

"They gambled that even if I wasn't motivated by doing the right thing, I'd use all my political power to avoid a scandal that would damage my House. But I can assure you, Master Jedi, that if doing the right thing had mean exposing my family and connections to censure, then I would not have hesitated. There were many lives on the line."

"I don't recall hearing anything of this narrowly averted mining disaster," her master said.

The Senator smiled briefly, grimly. "It was handled at the highest diplomatic levels, with the utmost discretion. If the details had leaked, we'd still be mopping up the political fallout today."

"So Senator," Obi-Wan said, sighing and shifting his position on the chair he sat on opposite the two senators, "you handled a difficult situation neatly. Congratulations. But forgive me if I point out that one mynock does not an infestation make."

Organa leaned forward and Jaina stiffened subconsciously. "Master Kenobi, please," the Senator said. "Give me some credit. These Friends of the Republic proved themselves five times more after our initial encounter. They were…matters of internal Alderaan security. I don't propose to divulge the details, but I can assure you they served the Republic. And for all I know, I'm not the only one they've helped. I'm sorry I can't be more specific about them, but what I've told you is the truth. Are you prepared to take my word on that?"

"Of course he is, Bail," Senator Amidala said, breaking her silence at last. Her tone was sweet, but beneath that was a sharp blade she could use at any time. "Obi-Wan knows the Jedi have no better friend that you. I'm sure he hasn't forgotten how you defended the Order in the Senate against the Quarren's unjust accusations of child-theft."

Obi-Wan shot Amidala a quelling look that practically said _do not push me. _Then he nodded at Senator Organa. "Your support of the Jedi is well-known in the Order, Senator," he said. "Please do not misinterpret my concerns as suspicion."

Jaina shifted her weight tiredly; wishing she'd stayed back at the Temple and rested instead of hearing all these quarrels on _politics_.

Obi-Wan turned around briefly and offered her an apologetic glance before shifting in his seat and patting the empty space now next to him. Jaina subtly exhaled in relief and quietly sat down.

"I don't," Senator Organa said. "It's all in our best interests to be cautious these days, Master Kenobi."

"Obi-Wan," Padmé said quietly, almost cajoling. Jaina grimaced. "These are dark times, it's true, but some friends remain friends until the end. I believe Bail is one of them."

"Senator," Obi-Wan said to Organa after a moment. "I accept your assertion that these people – whoever they are – have proven themselves to be friends of Alderaan, and their information in that regard is reliable. But what makes you believe they are reliable beyond that?"

Jaina crossed her legs and leaned one arm on her uninjured knee, resting her chin atop her palm and observing the politicians.

Organa looked at everyone in the room apologetically. "You're not going to like this, none of you will."

Obi-Wan nodded and Jaina saw his shoulders tense. "Let me be the judge of that, Senator."

The Senator began recounting everything he knew, from Geonosis, to Bakura, to Christophsis and Ventress, even the origin of the clone army. It took all of Jaina's self—restraint to keep her jaw from dropping.

"But, Bail—" Amidala gaped. "Why did you never mention this? Surely the Security Committee should know—the Chancellor should now—there's been a breach of—"

"I couldn't tell you. Or anyone. I'm sorry, Padmé," the Senator said. "I gave these people my word years ago that I would never reveal their existence. How could I repay all the good they've done with treachery? They told me these things as a show of good faith, as a way to demonstrate that their wartime intelligence network is extensive and accurate. That if they give me information about the Separatists, I can trust it's correct."

"How does your arrangement with these people work, Senator?" Obi-Wan asked, finally stepping in. "Do you meet with them?"

"No," Senator Organa said, shaking his head. "I've never seen or even spoken with them. Their communications are text-based and encrypted. Coded messages sent in shortburst over a secure link they gave me at the time of the Aridus situation. And I can't contact them. They don't work for me, Master Kenobi. If they learn something they think I should know, they tell me. That's it."

Obi-Wan brought a hand to his eyes irritably. "You're taking an amazing leap of faith, Senator. And now you're asking me to leap with you."

"Don't you think I know that?" Organa demanded, equally as annoyed. "But given what they know, what they've managed to learn, is it any wonder they guard their identities so jealously? Is it fair to blame them for protecting themselves the only way they know how?"

Jaina sighed impatiently and leaned her forehead on her palm, closing her eyes tiredly as Amidala and Organa began to argue. One sentence, softly spoken by her master, was all it took to make her look up in shock.

"Yes, Senator. The Sith are real."

"Master," Jaina gaped. Senator Organa wore the same expression.

The Senator then nodded, regaining his composure. "All right. So at least we know my contact's not been misled about that. How many are there? Who are their leaders? I presume they have names."

"We don't know their leaders' true identities," Obi-Wan replied evenly. "We only know that they exist."

"And they present a danger to the Jedi?"

"They threaten not only the Jedi, but they entire galaxy. Every life now breathing, sentient and nonsentient, and every life that is yet to be born."

Organa gaped at her master again. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I am not at liberty to divulge more details," Obi-Wan said, and though there was no smug smile on his face, Jaina could sense him briefly enjoying the irony. "I simply ask you to accept my word on the matter."

"If the Sith are such a threat, Master Kenobi, why have I never heard of them? I'm head of the Republic's Security Committee. I should have heard of them," he said, a hint of anger in his voice.

"The Sith live in the shadows of the dark side, Senator," Jaina said, speaking for the first time and sensing her master's internal struggle not to succumb to his irritation. "The Jedi believed they were long dead. Vanquished a thousand years ago."

"Really?" the Senator snorted, giving her a mocking look. "Then it would appear the Jedi were mistaken."

Jaina bit her bottom lip, her cheeks burning. Her master laid a hand on her shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze but she turned to the ground.

"Bail!" Senator Amidala exclaimed, before her master could have snapped a word. "That's not fair."

"Not fair?!" He retorted, infuriated. "I'll tell you what's not fair, Padmé. It's not fair the Jedi know of a threat that makes the Separatists look like playground bullies and they haven't seen fit to inform the Senate! It's high-handed, autocratic decisions like this that fuel mistrust and resentment of them in the Outer Rim! And sometimes even closer to home. It's not good enough, we must work together as equal or we will _fail_."

The argument continued and Jaina groaned, too exhausted for any of this kriffing nonsense. People were dying _everywhere_ and politicians had the time to argue about their ethics? It was times like these that made her, and her master, despise them.

Obi-Wan pushed himself off the chair abruptly, equally as irritated as she was. Jaina half-heartedly stood up and resumed her position behind him. "Senators, this matter cannot be resolved here and now. Therefore I shall return to the Temple and refer it to the Jedi Council. Until such time a decision is made on how to best proceed, I'd ask that you both—"

"No, wait," Senator Amidala said, laying a hand on his arm. Jaina's eyebrows rose. So did his. "Master Kenobi, please wait. Bail, I'm sorry. I do know about the Sith, I've known for ten years."

Obi-Wan gaped at the Senator until Jaina thought his self-restraint would break, and he'd start yelling in that terrifying way he would when she'd disobey an important direct order because of impetuosity. "_Padmé_," he said quietly, and even more chilling, "you gave the Jedi your word that—"

"It's all right, Obi-Wan," Amidala said quickly. "I promise."

"Ten years?!" Organa said blankly. "How do you—"

"They were behind the invasion of Naboo," she replied. "And they're behind this war with the Separatists. Bail, you _must _listen to Obi-Wan, he knows what he's talking about."

"He's the only Jedi in a thousand years to have faced a Sith in mortal combat and lived," Jaina said, ignoring the almost-murderous look on her master's face.

"You knew?" Organa still demanded of Amidala. "You knew, and you stayed silent?!"

Jaina rolled her eyes and shook her head, turning around as yet _another_ verbal battle on political ethics began. This was going nowhere.

It went on and on for several minutes, with her master watching them with an exasperated look on his face, as though these two Galactic Senators were merely younglings arguing over who would get the last slice of pudding for the millionth time in a day.

Finally, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Senators."

Organa turned to look at them. "Master Kenobi. Forgive me. I was intemperate. And I should heed my own advice. Only by working together – trusting each other – can we hope to win this war. The Jedi may have their own way of doing things, often difficult to fathom by outsiders, but nobody is making a greater sacrifice for the Republic. I know that."

Obi-Wan nodded impassively. "Thank you, Senator. Your support is appreciated."

"Look." Padmé looked at both men, aggravated. "I think we can agree, can't we, that our dedication to the preservation of the Republic is a given? In which case, let's finish what we've started here. Because surely the only thing that matters is preventing the Sith from hurting the Jedi and, through them, the Republic."

Obi-Wan's mouth twisted in a half-smile. "Yes," he said quietly. "It is the only thing that matters."

She nodded. "Then I suggest we sit down again and continue this discussion bearing that in mind."

Jaina sat down next to her master again, everyone acting slightly more awkward now.

"Senator Organa, can you tell me, precisely what your contact told you?" Her master asked.

"It wasn't much, I'm afraid," the Senator replied sheepishly. "A warning of a Sith plot to destroy the Jedi. Mention of a planet called Zigoola. And an _express_ request that I inform you of your danger. Which tells me the situation is desperate. They would never chance discovery if it weren't."

"Zigoola?" Amidala asked frowning. "I've never heard of it. Have you, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan glanced at Jaina and, with speed that astonished even her, she mentally went through almost all the holobooks she'd read in the past and all lessons that might have involved this mystery planet. Never had she heard of a planet by this name. Disappointed, she shook her head.

"No," Obi-Wan replied to Padme after a few moments, also having gone through his knowledge of this Sith. He let out a long, inaudible sigh, and Jaina was starting to sense his increasing worry over another unheard of planet so soon after Kamino. The Senators remained ignorant.

"If the Sith managed to hide their existence from the Jedi for a thousand years, that implies they are masters of deception," Organa said. "Is it within their power to hide a whole planet?"

Jaina stiffened and followed suit as her master stood up. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to discuss that," Obi-Wan said. "Senator, as I said, this matter must be referred to Master Yoda and the Council. I will be as discreet as I can. I know you're anxious to protect your source's anonymity."

"Very anxious, Master Kenobi."

"In the meantime, if you hear from your contact again, I'd ask that you bring me any new information without delay."

Organa nodded, his lips tightening. "All right."

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. "And, Senator, should Master Yoda wish to speak with you about this, would you be willing to do so?"

"Yes…" the Senator replied slowly. "But you must understand, Master Kenobi, I won't compromise my relationship with these people by telling him any more about them than I've told you. What they tell you is up to them. But I gave them my word."

Obi-Wan sighed inaudibly again and Jaina held back her own groan. This was getting complicated.

"Of course, Senator," her master replied. "We would never ask you to violate a confidence."

"That's good to know. You'll keep me informed, Master Kenobi, of what you learn?"

"If I can," Obi-Wan said. "Though I can make you no promises. I do, however, thank you, Senator Organa. I know telling me this can't have been easy."

Organa shrugged. "I was honoring my contact's wishes. That's all."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, and he hesitated, sparing Jaina the tiniest of glances. "Senator, you'd do well to forget everything you've heard today. Let the Jedi handle this. And never speak of the Sith to anyone, _ever_. It's quite impossible to overestimate the danger they pose."

"It's good of you to think of me, Master Kenobi, but…" the Senator half-smiled. "I'm quite adept at protecting myself."

Obi-Wan's face immediately changed into one of sorrow, unrestrained. Jaina's throat tightened. "So was my former Master, Qui-Gon Jinn," he said. "He was a great man, a great Jedi, yet the Sith still murdered him."

"I see…" Organa said, after a moment. "I…wasn't aware of that."

"Few people are," Obi-Wan said, his face returning to its typical mask of composure. "Your discretion would be appreciated."

"Of course."

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, Bail, I'll walk Master Kenobi and his Padawan to their speeder," Amidala said. "I won't be long."

Obi-Wan laid a hand on Jaina's shoulder as they walked back out to the veranda, the Naboo Senator at their heels. Jaina stopped a half-step behind her master, next to their plain speeder, her bangs and cloak billowing in the breeze.

"I didn't realize you and the Senator from Alderaan were such good friends," her master said casually.

"We've been working together on Senate committees for almost two years now," she replied. "We share the same goals for the Republic and have the same impatience with indecision and inefficiency. I'm friends with his wife, Breha, too."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, inclining his head in slight apology. "Padmé, I do wish you hadn't told him of the Sith."

"You can trust him."

"Most likely his information will prove to be a false alarm, but I am pleased you felt able to call on me," he said. "I know we haven't always…seen eye-to-eye…but I do hold you in the highest regard, Padmé, I hope you know that. I hope nothing happens to make you feel you can't call on me, if ever you find yourself in trouble."

Jaina bit her bottom lip and subtly climbed into the passenger seat of their speeder, not wanting to intrude on this seemingly private conversation.

Senator Amidala gazed at the distant Temple. "Yes," she said faintly. "I hope so, too."

"By the way," her master added, getting into the airspeeder. "I never thanked you for your assistance in the recent Hutt kidnapping matter. Your intervention proved crucial."

Padmé's eyes changed, and there was a bleak sentiment on her face.

"It doesn't matter who you did it for, Padmé," Obi-Wan said softly. "You did it, and you made a difference. Every day, you make a difference. Anakin is the man he is now because he knew you. For that alone I shall always be grateful."

Jaina turned away and started watching the traffic lanes. She knew there were many things her master kept from her. As much as she disliked it, that was part of a Master's job, to decide what his Padawan needed to know and what to keep from her. But she had no idea that he had _that _many secrets.

"Thank you…" Amidala said quietly.

"You still miss him, don't you?"

Jaina rested her hand atop the airspeeder's edge, biting her index finger's nail anxiously. She really shouldn't be hearing these things.

"Oh, Obi-Wan," the Senator said, sighing. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"The truth."

"Then yes. _I still miss him_."

"You did the right thing, Padmé," he said gently. "And in time the pain will fade. In time, you'll forget."

"Like he forgot his mother?"

Obi-Wan shuddered and Jaina turned back to him, astonished, confused and slightly concerned.

"I'm sorry," Amidala said, looking away. "That wasn't fair."

"It's nothing," her master said. "I know I hurt you, asking you to walk away. _I'm_ sorry."

"Well, I won't say _that_ was nothing," the Senator said, managing a smile. "But…it's in the past. We need to worry about the future. If these Friends of the Republic are right," she shivered, "and the Sith are planning something…"

"Then we shall deal with them," Obi-Wan said, his blue eyes chilling. "If the Sith think to destroy the Jedi, then I promise you, they'll learn their mistake."

"You sound so fierce," Amidala said, staring at him. "You hardly ever sound fierce, Obi-Wan. Confident. Determined. Cross, even, sometimes. But not fierce. Not…"

"_Frightening_…" Jaina murmured, staring at him too.

The Senator nodded slowly, still dazed. Obi-Wan shook his head, firing up the engines. "You both have nothing to fear. You're not a Sith."

Jaina bit her bottom lip again and tugged at her fingers as her master offered the Senator a sharp nod and drove towards the Temple. This was all so mindboggling.

"I'm sorry you had to witness all that, Padawan," Obi-Wan said quietly, pushing the airspeeder into a sharp turn towards a shortcut. "But I always appreciate another perspective."

"The whole time I was probably thinking the same things you were," Jaina said, easing slightly. She faked a dramatic sigh. "_Politicians_."

Obi-Wan actually chuckled. "That wasn't on my mind the _entire_ time, but it was for quite a while."

"So, I guess the big question is, now what?"

"Well, I need to inform the Council of this latest development," he said, speeding up as the neared the Temple. "I need you to do additional research, find out whatever you can on Zigoola."

"Yes, Master. I'll let you know what I find out as soon as possible."

"First Dex, now this Senator from Alderaan," Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. "I do think we need to stop this habit of collecting uncooperative informants."

* * *

**A/N: ****Sorry I took foreverrrr :( busy busy busy. Hope this five thousand word chapter made up for the two months xD the ****new, more action-y chapter is almost done and should be up soon! :)  
**

**I really really really REALLY appreciate comments and reviews :)  
**

**BenKeto: I felt so sad the whole time while writing it all LOL. Thanks!  
**

**Charliebrownfan4: Yup! :) Me too :) I gave credit to Karen Miller in the previous chpaters. Thanks!**

**charliebrown1234: I'm sorry! :)) Been so busy, but anyway here's that chapter! Thank you!**


	18. Alliance

Chapter 17 - Alliance

Jaina sat in the center of her dark room going through the several books she owned and looking for any reference on Zigoola.

Korriban would pop up now and again, along with Thule, Vjun and several others, but no mention of Zigoola whatsoever.

Jaina ran a hand through her hair irritably. It was probably early in the morning now, and she'd spent the past hours in the Jedi Archives, only to find nothing. It definitely was not because Jaina was looking in the wrong place, but now she was wondering if she was simply not able to access any information on Zigoola because of her rank.

So, disappointed and slightly aggravated, she'd returned to her quarters to search the mini library she'd amassed over the years. She'd already failed during those explosions. Jaina felt the fierce urge to prove herself.

She shifted her position on the floor, transferring her weight to her left side now that her right was tiring out. A sharp pain erupted in her left leg and ribs and she flinched, swiftly shifting back to the right.

Jaina let out a slow breath, slowing her racing heart and releasing any pain she felt. She stared blankly at a half-buried holobook, wondering how she would ever serve on the front lines again with this battered body. Her Master already seemed fine, he was back on his feet, moving with the same grace he always did.

Acting like she was just as fine as he was would eventually get too exhausting; and she knew he knew that she was not as "fine" as she made everyone else believe. Jaina let out another slow exhale, ignoring her throbbing leg. She sat up straight, still staring at the same holobook and wondering how long Master Obi-Wan could go without asking her to tell him the truth, that she was _not_ quite fine yet.

Jaina squinted, now beginning to read the line in the holobook she'd been staring at so intently.

_Somewhere in Wild Space, another planet known to hold a Sith Temple and its artifacts was Zigoola, conquered by the Order of the Sith Lords centuries ago._

Jaina's eyes widened and she shoved all other holobooks away, speed-reading that specific book.

Light suddenly filled her dim room as the door opened and a tall shadow loomed over her.

"Master," Jaina greeted, exhilarated. "It exists, Zigoola exists."

"You found it?" Obi-Wan asked, kneeling next to her and glancing at the book. "Where'd you get all these holobooks?"

"The Archives had nothing on the planet, although my Padawan rank probably limited my research, Master Nu hadn't heard of it either, so I decided to check my own books," Jaina said sheepishly. "When I was younger, I used to go to this holobook store that's not too far from here, it's still within the Temple Precinct," she added quickly at his astounded look. "The owners loved that I'd go there so often so they'd give me the books that nobody really looked at."

Obi-Wan looked like he almost rolled his eyes and he sighed. "Well, I can't say this hasn't happened before. I'm just happy that my current Padawan is sneaking out for books instead of spare parts for droids that somehow always end up working."

Jaina quirked a smile and raised an eyebrow. "Master Anakin would sneak out for spare parts?"

He waved a hand. "It's irrelevant. The information you've gotten is good, although it gives us nothing on the planet, it is proof that it exists. And this is perfect timing," he said standing up.

"Master?" Jaina asked, picking up the book and standing up as well. Something's happened, she realized. Not only did he look anxious, but he also looked miserable.

"We need to go," he said walking to the door. "Senator Organa has just contacted the Temple. He wants to see us. Now. He told the Jedi Knight who informed me that I would know why."

Jaina's eyes widened and she quickly stuffed the holobook into a survival kit inside one of her cabinets. She slung it around her shoulder, picked up another previously-packed one, tossed it to her master then picked up two medkits and two backpacks before walking towards him at the door.

"What?" She asked innocently, as he stared at her with a shocked and proud expression on his face. "I told you, I'm always prepared."

"Evidently," he said with a smile, taking the other backpack and medkit. "Even when the trip is just to a spoiled Senator's apartment."

Jaina shrugged, happy to at least get a smile out of him yet still wondering what he wasn't telling her. "You never know, Master."

* * *

"Master Kenobi," Bail Organa greeted, standing in his apartment's open doorway. "You came."

"Your message sounded urgent, Senator," Obi-Wan said, nodding.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose it did," the Senator shook his head and stepped back. "It was. I'm sorry. Please, come in."

Jaina entered the apartment behind her master and she resisted the urge to gasp. In her time as Obi-Wan's Padawan, she'd already met some Senate members, leaders of certain planets, even the Supreme Chancellor a couple of times. Though she'd never seen the Chancellor's home, she suspected it would be as immaculate, elegant and beautiful as Bail Organa's.

It was spacious, held the typical restrained Alderaanian style that was not too ostentatious, but still stunning.

Organa gestured at a long, low couch. "Have a seat. Can I offer either of you something? I have Corellian brandy or a fine white wine from my family's vineyard. Although, not for your Padawan…I also have tea."

She could sense her master's growing irritation once more. She shared it this time too. It _was_ early in the morning and this man _had_ just urgently summoned them. "Thank you, no," her master managed graciously.

"No?" the Senator dropped into a chair across them. "Did I drag you from your bed, Master Kenobi? If so, I apologize."

"No, Senator," Obi-Wan said, taking a seat on the couch and gesturing for Jaina to sit next to him. "We were awake."

Organa straightened. "Something's happened."

"You summoned us, Senator," Jaina said matter-of-factly. "We assumed something has happened."

Organa didn't reply, but continue to look at her master.

Obi-Wan sighed. "We lost the Falleen battle group. Senator, was there a particular reason you needed to see me or—"

"The whole group?" the Senator demanded. "Every cruiser?"

Jaina gaped at her master. Why didn't she know about this? Why didn't he tell her? How in the galaxies did Grievous wipe out the _entire _group?! "Master…?"

"Yes, Senator Organa. You—"

Organa buried his face in his hands. "The _Bespin Dancer_. Is—was—she part of the Falleen group?"

"I believe so. _Senator_—"

"My wife's cousin is a tac officer on the _Dancer_."

"Then, Senator, I am sorry for your loss. But if we could perhaps—"

The Senator looked up at them, his face twisted in disgust. "Some people say the Jedi are cold. Unfeeling. Are you trying to prove them right, Master Kenobi?"

Jaina gaped at him, her irritation rising to a whole new level. "Senator Organa—"

Obi-Wan stood, and Jaina followed suit. "Senator, I think—"

"You lost Jedi in the battle group," Organa said, sounding reproachful. "Were they your friends? Aren't you grieving for them?"

Jaina continued to gawk at him, her stare turning dangerously close to a glare. Her master had lost several friends in that battle group. Jaina herself had fellow Padawans on board. But now was not the time to mourn. Now was the time for action.

"Senator, you said you needed to see me urgently. If that is not the case, I shall return to the Temple."

"_Sit down_."

Obi-Wan sat, very slowly. Jaina followed him, even slower. This man was distraught, exhausted and a government official. Horrible combination. Even more horrible that he was giving orders to her master, a man who already _detested_ politicians.

"Senator," Obi-Wan said flatly.

"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi," he said bringing his hands to his face. "That was uncalled for." He lowered his hands. "Tell me, what were you able to find out about Zigoola?"

"Close to nothing, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan said, grimacing. "Master Yoda and Master Windu have never heard of it; my Padawan and I have checked the Archives, there is no record of a planet by that name, or any name close to it. The only mention of Zigoola is in a historical holobook my Padawan has owned for years and all it contains is a mere sentence. Senator, why did you ask me here? Have you been contacted by your source again?"

"Yes," Organa said. "They say they know where Zigoola is. They want to meet us there. Show us something to do with the Sith that they can't—won't—discuss via coded shortbursts. They've sent the first set of coordinates for the journey."

"Meet _us_?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Absolutely not, Senator. If this Zigoola exists, and if it does have a link to the Sith, it's far too dangerous a place for you. My Padawan and I will go."

Organa's eyebrows rose. "I don't think so. We go together. Or _I'll_ go alone. I'm more than happy to leave you behind."

"I'm afraid I can't agree to that. Or to you accompanying me."

"Well, if you want anything to do with this, Master Kenobi, I'm afraid you'll have to. Because if you think I'm going to hand over my comlink, my datareader, and my decryption codes and wave good-bye as you fly off to meet my contact without me, you're a much stupider man than I thought."

Jaina opened her mouth to snap what she later realized would be an impolite retort, when her master laid a hand on her knee, stopping her. _Politicians!_

"Senator, we have been through this already," Obi-Wan said calmly. "The Sith are Jedi business. Not yours."

"Wrong," Organa snapped. "Given my security duties they are very much my business. And they're going to stay my business for as long as I'm the one receiving the coded information about them. Now it seems to me we have a choice, Master Kenobi. Either we can sit here until sunrise arguing, or we can agree that like it or not, you and I are about to become much better acquainted."

Obi-Wan stared at him, raising an eyebrow. "Meaning?"

"Meaning I have a fully provisioned ship standing by. It's nothing fancy or particularly fast, and it's a bit on the small side, but it's spaceworthy and civilian-registered. No Senatorial or Alderaanian connections. It'll get us to Zigoola without drawing undue attention or breaking down, you have my word. Especially since—at the risk of sounding immodest—I happen to be an accomplished pilot."

Jaina rolled her eyes, not bothering to restrain her late-night irritation. She was tired, sleepy and this man was acting extremely _insufferable_.

"Senator, I do not wish to be rude, but I must point out to you that there is a great deal of difference between comfortable Core-World-hopping and deep-space expeditions."

"No, really?!"

"Really," her master continued, impatience, rare as it was for him, already evident in his voice. "In the event that my Padawan and I become incapacitated, are you saying you can strip down a malfunctioning hyperdrive unit, correctly identify the problem, replace its faulty components, or improvise new ones, and resemble it to fully performance capacity?"

Jaina resisted the urge to smile smugly. _Touché, Master._

But the Senator was grinning widely. "A standard LT-five unit? Yes. Did it last week as a matter of fact. It's a good relaxation, and I like to keep my hand in. Timed myself, just for the fun of it. Thirty-eight minutes, how about you?"

Although his face remained the same, Jaina sensed her master's shock. "I am…mechanically proficient."

Organa nodded, faking interest. He turned to Jaina. "And you?"

Jaina exhaled sharply, annoyed. "Thirty-nine and 40 seconds," she growled.

"So, that makes all of us mechanically proficient. Any more questions?"

"What did you mean when you said first coordinates?" Obi-Wan asked.

The Senator's smile evaporated. "I told you, these are very cautious people we're dealing with. They'll guide us to Zigoola in several stages."

Obi-Wan sighed, clearly growing tired of this. "Senator, you must reconsider. Your place is here, in the Senate. Be guided by me and remain on Coruscant."

"The last time I looked, Master Kenobi, I wasn't your Padawan," Organa said wryly. "I don't need to be guided by you. And who knows? I might even come in handy."

Jaina closed her eyes and inhaled, her impatience growing to an uncomfortable level.

Her master stood. "I very much doubt that," he said, and Jaina stood up too. "And if anything untoward should happen to you, it would be most unfortunate. So on behalf of the Jedi Council, I thank you for your information, Senator, and request that you take no further action in this matter."

He started towards the entry hall with Jaina on his heels when Organa came after him. "Master Kenobi, please _wait_," he said laying a hand on his shoulders.

Obi-Wan spun around at the touch of his fingers, fuming and looking ready to reach for his lightsaber. Jaina's eyes, along with Senator Organa's, widened.

The Senator stepped back, hands raised, suddenly alert. "Sorry. No disrespect intended," he said. "I only want you to hear me out."

Jaina had to admire her master's self-restraint. He took a step back too and slowly clasped his hands before him, looking like a renowned Jedi Master on the outside, while being a regular aggravated man summoned by a _politician_ in the middle of the night on the inside. "Senator."

"Look," the Senator said. "We both want the same thing, right? The Republic safe. The Sith stopped. And like it or not, without my contact you've got nothing. Are you really going to let Jedi pride get in the way?"

"Pride has nothing to do with this, Senator," Jaina said, giving her master a couple of moments to cool down.

"My Padawan is right," Obi-Wan said, terribly, uncomfortably close to losing his temper. "The Sith are _dangerous_. How many more times must I tell you before you believe me?"

"I already believe you," Organa said, crossing his arms. "But my life is sworn to the safeguarding of this Republic, just like yours, just like your Padawan's. I've got as much right to risk myself as you do. If anything, it's my duty to pursue this matter."

Frustrated, Obi-Wan blew out a long breath. "We must confer with the Council," he said briskly. "Wait there. Don't move."

"Yes, Master," Organa said, raising an eyebrow.

Obi-Wan returned to the living area, Jaina, not quite as annoyed but probably more anxious, behind him. Obi-Wan brought out his comlink, contacted Yoda and updated him.

"_A disturbing development this is, Obi-Wan_," Yoda said. "_Convinced, you remain, that this danger is real?_"

"I'm convinced Organa's convinced, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said quietly, sighing. "I sense no deception in him."

"_Perhaps. But a Sith trap this still could be._"

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said. "The thought has crossed my mind."

"Master Yoda," Jaina said, keeping her voice just as low, "do we know where Dooku is?"

Yoda snorted. "A Separatist convention on Chanosant he prepares to attend, Padawan. Support for his disloyalty he seeks to expand. Reports there are on the holonews."

"Then…that leaves the Sith Master…" Jaina murmured.

"If Dooku had told the truth, and Sidious is influencing the Senate, chances are he won't abandon Coruscant, Padawan," Obi-Wan said. "Master Yoda, I know it's risky, but I think we should pursue this matter."

"_Hmmm_," Yoda said. "_Correct you are, Obi-Wan. But comfortable I am not with further involving Senator Organa in Jedi business."_

Obi-Wan glanced behind him and Jaina followed his gaze, sweeping the room but finding the Senator nowhere nearby.

"Nor am I, Master," Obi-Wan said. "But do we have a choice? His contacts won't talk to anyone else. If I'm going to question him about this possible Sith threat, it will only be through him."

"_True_," Yoda said. "_But an important man he has become. Regarded highly by the Supreme Chancellor. To Bair Organa must no harm come._"

"We understand, Master Yoda," Jaina said.

"Although he'll not appreciate a Jedi nursemaid," Obi-Wan said, sighing. "In that respect, he's very much like Senator Amidala."

Master Yoda snorted again. "_And like Senator Amidala, accept our protection he will. But strong enough are you, Obi-Wan and Jaina, to undertake this task?_" he sounded doubtful. "_The truth I need to know. Depend on it your life might, and the life of Senator Organa._"

Jaina felt her heart race as her Master gazed at her, knowing full well that although the question was directed at both of them, she was probably in even worse shape than he was. She looked back at him, raising her chin slightly and letting him know that she was ready. Or at least, she hoped it looked that way.

"Vokara Che has said we are fully healed," He replied to Yoda, still not taking his eyes off her.

"Besides, this isn't an all-out battle, Master Yoda, it's a recon mission," Jaina added reassuringly, looking away from her Master for fear of cracking. "More than likely a false alarm."

"But if it's not," Obi-Wan added quickly, giving her a look, "you have our word we won't do anything foolish. At the first sign on trouble, we'll call for reinforcements."

For a few moments, there was a deafening silence and Jaina had no doubt that they were thinking the same things she was. They would call for reinforcements if there _were_ any. The Falleen battle group was gone, the Jedi were spread so thin that Dooku and his allies was beginning to win every battle one by one.

Yoda sighed, breaking the silence. "_A dangerous undertaking this is. Perhaps another Jedi I should send with you._"

"You can't, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said. "The Senator's instructions were quite specific: two Jedi to accompany him, no more."

"_Then follow you, someone could. Disappear without a race you might, Master Kenobi_."

"Who would you send? There's no one and we all know it. I will be all right, Master Yoda."

"_Thought that we did when to Kamino we sent you_."

Jaina recoiled, saw her master grimace too. The events of Kamino and Geonosis were hardly ever topics in their conversations. She knew how much those events hurt him, physically and emotionally, and she had no desire to reopen wounds of that magnitude.

"History will not repeat itself, Master Yoda," her master said, somewhat severely. "On that you have my word."

Jaina lowered her head, feeling a fresh surge of guilt. It looked like she wasn't the only one trying to prove herself. And all this had happened because she had crashed a speeder.

Yoda sighed heavily. "_Very well, Obi-Wan. Permission you have to follow this lead with Senator Organa, for unravel this new Sith mystery we must. Your ship's transponder frequency give to the Temple comm center. Out of contact you must not be_."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said. "Master! I'm so sorry, I almost forgot. Anakin has reached Bothawui and—"

"_Yes, I know. The transmission recording I have seen_," Yoda said sternly. "_Monitored young Skywalker's progress will be._"

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said with a sigh.

"May the Force be with you both," Yoda said, cutting the link.

Jaina stepped out of the apartment for a couple of moments to get everything she had packed earlier.

"Well?" Senator Organa said, entering the living area. "Do I pack myself a spare shirt, or don't I?"

"Yes, Senator," Jaina said, walking back in with their survival packs and backpacks slung around her shoulders and the medkits in her arms. "You do."

"Senator Organa, I don't think you've formally met my Padawan, Jaina," Obi-Wan said, taking his packs from Jaina and slinging them over his own shoulders. "It's like you said, we're all going to get better acquainted."

* * *

Jaina hardly remembered going to sleep. Yet now, here she was, half-asleep, or rather, half-awake, because someone in their room was talking loudly. She was in one of the passenger compartment's many bunks, having left her belongings at the bottom and collapsed there upon arriving on Organa's plain ship.

She rubbed her eyes sleepily, rolling to the side, as she continue hearing muffled voices inside the room.

"Anakin…_Anakin_!"

_Master Anakin is here?_ "Whatsgoingon?" She mumbled, lifting her head off the pillow, her eyes still closed.

"_Anakin_!"

"Master?" Jaina called out, now fully awake, and leaning downwards to look at her master's bunk below her. "You okay?"

He was now fully awake too, sitting up in his narrow bunk, breathing heavily.

"Master Kenobi?" The Senator's voice called from the hallway. "Are you awake?"

"What is it?" Obi-Wan called back.

"Your Padawan is asking to speak with you."

"His Padawan is right here—oh." Jaina hopped off the top bunk clumsily, almost losing her balance as she landed. "He must mean Master Anakin."

Obi-Wan looked relieved. He nodded groggily and massaged his temples. "Not my Padawan," he said, blinking as he stood up. "Not anymore. Please tell him I shall be there momentarily."

Obi-Wan and Jaina put their boots and belt back on then went to the cockpit where a small, hologram Anakin shimmered on the comm console.

"_Master_," Anakin greeted. "_Where are you? I transmitted through to the Temple but the signal was rerouted_."

"I'm running an errand," Obi-Wan replied. "So. You're in one piece after all. How did you manage that?"

"In one piece?" Anakin and Jaina asked simultaneously, shocked.

"_You mean you know_—" Anakin started.

"Of course," Obi-Wan said, smiling. "But why are you reporting to me and not the Council?"

Anakin shrugged, looking somewhat evasive. "_Old habits die hard, I guess. What kind of errand_?"

"The irrelevant kind," Obi-Wan said severely, startling Jaina. "It's a shame about your starfighter, Anakin. It's not like they grow on trees, you know."

Anakin sighed. "_Sorry_."

"Don't apologize," Obi-Wan said, exhaling. "You saved Bothawui. With boldness and daring, against significant odds. Congratulations, Anakin, your resourcefulness always amazes me."

"_Thank you, Master_," Anakin said, looking surprisingly disheartened.

"You look troubled."

"_I lost Artoo in the field_."

"Well, Artoo units are a dime a dozen," Obi-Wan said. "They're easily replaced."

"_I could take a squad out there, track him down_," Anakin said eagerly, clearly not listening.

"Anakin, it's only a droid," Obi-Wan snapped. "You know attachment is not acceptable for a Jedi."

Anakin exhaled and his head dropped. "_It's not just that. Um…how do I put this?_"

Obi-Wan and Jaina exchanged anxious glances.

Anakin looked back up at them, remorseful. "_I…didn't wipe Artoo's memory_."

"WHAT?!" Obi-Wan exploded, causing Jaina to take a step back. "You mean he's still programmed with our tactics and base locations?! If the Separatists get a whole of him…" he paused, as a thousand scenarios raced through their heads. "Anakin! What _possessed_ you not to erase that droid's memory?!"

Jaina placed a cautious, reassuring hand on her master's shoulder, finding it strange that for this moment, their roles had reversed. She always felt so _petrified_ when he'd explode like that. Quite thankful that she was not on the receiving end, she still knew that Master Anakin's bad news only made their current situation worse.

"_Master Obi-Wan, sometimes Artoo having that extra information has come in handy_," Ahsoka said, stepping into the transmitter range.

Jaina shot her a wide-eyed, warning look, not wanting another explosion. "Ahsoka—"

"Find that droid, Anakin," Obi-Wan interrupted flatly. "Our necks might very well depend on it."

Anakin brightened. "_Right away, Master_!"

"I'll inform Master Yoda you're…engaged in mopping-up operations. But handle this quickly, Anakin. Time is not on our side."

Looking determined now, Anakin nodded. "_I will, I promise. Thank you, Obi-Wan_."

"You're welcome," he growled.

Jaina spared Ahsoka one last look before her master severed the link, and she blew out one long exhale.

Obi-Wan pulled his hand to his forehead, sighing and visibly aggravated.

"Back to sleep?" Jaina asked quietly.

He looked at her, confused.

"It helps," she added, shrugging simply. "Sleep will help with the irritation. This isn't what we need right now."

Obi-Wan exhaled again and smiled gently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and walking back towards the passenger compartment.

* * *

Loud, relentlessly beeping began to drag Jaina away from her peaceful slumber. She groaned and rolled over to her side.

"Padawan, you're comlink is ringing," came Obi-Wan's muffled voice from somewhere nearby.

"That's yours…" Jaina mumbled, sandwiching her head between the pillow and the bed.

"No, it's not…" he said sleepily. "I checked."

Jaina reached to the side, fumbling for her comlink on the bedside table. Only when she was halfway _off_ her bunk did she realize that she was on the top bed of the passenger compartment, not in her own room at the Jedi Temple.

Unable to shift her weight in half a second, Jaina fell to the metal ground of the compartment. Hard. "_Ouch_."

"Careful not to fall off your bed, Padawan," Obi-Wan mumbled.

"Thank you," Jaina growled, pushing herself off the ground and clutching her already sore ribs. "That _really_ helps, Master."

She cringed again at the pain in her waist, back and legs before grabbing her comlink from her belt atop her boots.

"You've reached the private comm line of Jedi Commander Jaina Knightrunner," she rumbled grouchily. "If you require any sort of assistance, please contact the clone outpost nearest to you."

"Jaina?" A confused, familiar voice echoed from her comlink.

Jaina snapped awake, surprised at the person comming her. "Ahsoka?" She stood up and left the passenger compartment, finding the cockpit empty. Jaina connected her comlink to the ship's main communication system and seconds later, a tiny hologram of Anakin's Togruta Padawan turned up atop the console.

She smiled sheepishly. "Hello, Jaina. Sorry if I woke you up."

Jaina rubbed her eyes, still wondering why Ahsoka was calling her, something she'd never done before. "Is there a particular reason why you're contacting me?"

"Can't I talk to a fellow Padawan in the middle of the night when I want to?"

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "You just won an extremely important battle, _lost_ an R2 unit that contains every _single _one of our tactics and bases, and you're contacting me because _you want to_? I wasn't born yesterday, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka's offered Jaina a tired half-smile but did not reply. Jaina knew the smile well, had often wore it on her own face but never expected to see it on Ahsoka's.

"In our defense, Jaina," Ahsoka started. "Master Anakin and I are going to search the debris in a couple of minutes."

Jaina brought a hand to her forehead exasperatedly, earning a grin from Ahsoka. "At the risk of sounding like my master, since, judging by your mocking grin, it's too late for me not to act like him, our necks depend on you two finding that droid, Ahsoka."

"Oh, I didn't contact you to rant about my fear of us never finding that droid and the Separatists crushing us," Ahsoka said quickly and without a split-second of hesitation. "I _know _Master Anakin and I will find R2."

Jaina didn't bother restraining herself from rolling her eyes. If Ahsoka had mocked her several times in the past for turning into a 'miniature Obi-Wan', she was seriously blind when it came to seeing the 'miniature Anakin'.

"I thought _you_ might want to rant to _me_."

Even Jaina couldn't conceal her shock. "_Me?_"

"Yeah," she said sincerely, clearly not noticing any of Jaina's shock. "Master Obi-Wan looked extremely upset earlier, and something tells me it's not just because Master Anakin and I messed up. Something else is happening. I could see it in your eyes earlier, you're worried for him. You're worried for yourself; you're worried for something _big_. And now, I'm the one ranting, I'll let you go on."

Jaina shook her head, smiling. "You keep saying how I'm a 'miniature Master Obi-Wan'. Well, Ahsoka, look at yourself, you're a practically Master Anakin's clone."

Ahsoka grinned wryly. "The eye sees what it wants to, doesn't it?"

"Which explains why you're not seeing yourself turning into the next 'Hero With No Fear'," Jaina said, smiling at her gently.

"And why, even now with everything you're saying to me, you don't see yourself turning into the next 'Negotiator'," Ahsoka retorted good-naturedly.

Jaina rolled her eyes and sat down on a nearby chair. "Now, _that _makes no sense."

Ahsoka mimicked the expression, rolling her own eyes. "Sure, it doesn't. Now, are you going to rant or what? I haven't got all day."

"I'm confused, Ahsoka, rant to you about what?!"

"About why you and your master are on your toes. Why he seemed so upset, Master Kenobi isn't usually in a bad mood."

Jaina exhaled slowly. "We're on a mission, Ahsoka. It's classified to the highest level of security. That's it. I can't tell you more."

"Come on, Jaina," Ahsoka said, sighing. "I'm talking to you as a friend, not as a fellow Padawan. This is off the record."

Jaina stared at her, astounded. "Ahsoka, even if this is 'off the record', I can't tell you. I will be _dead_ if any of the masters find out."

"Well, we'll make sure they don't then, won't we?" she said planting her hands on her hips. "Jaina, you and I both know you're worried. And I think you and I both know you want to prove yourself again."

Jaina's eyes widened.

"Oh, I don't think I'm _that_ good at this whole 'perceptive' thing," Ahsoka said quickly. "I just think it's what I would feel if I was in your situation and I know we're not that different, despite what you may think. You can't go on trying to prove yourself if you've got all this anxiety pent up inside. So go. Rant."

Jaina folded her arms across her chest but succumbed anyway. "All right, fine. But this stays _strictly_ between us, Ahsoka, understand?"

"Yes, Master Knightrunner," she said wryly.

"You can't tell even Master Anakin," Jaina said. "If Master Obi-Wan kept it from him, then he knows that Master Anakin's got enough on his mind already."

Ahsoka nodded and gestured for her to go on.

Jaina rolled her eyes again and sighed. "The thing is, we're on our way to some mysterious Sith planet called Zigoola. We don't have much information on it but Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan has requested our help, he had a contact who warned him of this Sith threat. They said we needed to find Zigoola. Chances are we're walking blindly into a huge trap set by Dooku or his Master. So, yeah, Master Obi-Wan and I are a little bit on edge."

Ahsoka's wide eyes were even wider. "Wow. And to think I thought you'd be jealous that I was sent on a mission to chase Grievous while you were stuck at the Temple."

"Grievous is a piece of cake, if you'd like to switch missions, I'd gladly do it."

"Nahh, I'm good," Ahsoka said, grinning. "This piece of cake is mine."

Jaina grinned back, but it vanished quickly. "Be careful, okay?" She said seriously. "Again, don't want to sound like my Master, but Grievous can be quite... complex. He has no style really; he's just all over the place. And keep your guard up. None of us really know how many lightsabers he's hiding under his sleeve."

Ahsoka nodded, now serious too. "Be careful too, Jaina," she said earnestly. "Don't want to sound like my Master either, but take care of Master Obi-Wan. He doesn't like to admit it, but even he needs the help of his Padawan once in a while."

Jaina grinned. "I will. Good luck, Ahsoka."

"You too," she smiled and nodded. "May the Force be with you."

Jaina returned the smile, even as the hologram started to fade away. "And with you."

* * *

**A/N: Hi guys, here's another update :) didn't have school here for 4 days so I had plenty of time to write LOL. **

**BenKeto1415: I can tell you hate politics just as much as Jaina, Obi-Wan and even I do! LOL :)) Since this journey is with a Galactic Senator, you can expect that even in the midst of a battle, politics will follow everywhere xD Thank you, hopefully they'll become more consistent ;)**

**charliebrown1234: Thank you! :D You reminded me of my 'duties' as a writer when I'd been so absorbed in school so, thanks! :) Yup, on to Zigoola! P.S. Something like that, you'll see. :D Thanks a bunch too!  
**

**And to the other readers out there, I can see you! xD Dun dun duuuuuuuuuun. I really appreciate reviews so please leave one, comments are appreciated too :) Next chapter will be up soon!  
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**On a more serious note....  
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**I would also like to ask for your prayers and/or donations to the Philippines. We have just experienced the worst typhoon in over 40 years, internationally known as Typhoon Ketsana and had even heavier rainfall than Hurricane Katrina, that has left our country's capital and 20 other surroundings cities almost completely submerged in over 7 feet of mud and water. The death toll has risen to almost 300, with 400, 000 people left homeless and in evacuation centers after this terrible storm that has dumped more than one month's worth of rain in 12 hours.  
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**You can donate through the American Red Cross and several other international organizations. Those rescued and left homeless and their rescuers are in dire need of food and clothing, but even just a short, simple prayer is much appreciated by this nation :)**


	19. Claustrophobia

Chapter 18 - Claustrophobia

Jaina stepped out of the cockpit, slipping her comlink back into her belt pocket. She let out a long exhale and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Trouble?" Asked a voice from nearby.

Jaina turned around, startled. "No, Senator Organa," she said smoothly, clasping her hands behind her back. He was sitting on a nearby chair, going through his datapad and now observing Jaina.

"So, everything's all right?"

"Of course," Jaina said, smiling and glancing outside the nearby viewport. "We're at the first coordinates?"

"Got here nearly an hour ago."

"What's our location?" Jaina asked curiously.

"About three parsecs trailing of Kuat."

"So we're still within the Core Worlds."

The Senator shrugged. "Just."

"And we've yet to hear from your contact?"

"Oh, no," Senator Organa said, leaning back in his seat and gesturing for her to take the one across him. "I received the next coordinates ten minutes after we got here. We're just sitting around because I like the view. Are you hungry?"

Jaina stared at him, dumbfounded. "Uh…yes."

"We've got mealpacks in the galley," he grimaced. "Well. That closet that's masquerading as a galley. Help yourself. Bring me one too, could you?"

Jaina wrinkled her nose but smiled politely. "Certainly, Senator," she said, mimicking her master's usual exquisite courtesy. "It would be my pleasure."

Jaina walked to the ship's tiny kitchen, pulled out two mealpacks from the filled conservator, and took them back to the table near the cockpit.

"Thanks," Organa said, taking his and opening it. "That master of yours seems pretty tough."

Jaina shrugged, activating the mealpack's heating mechanism and opening it. "He pushes me, and he can get pretty demanding at times, but in the end it's for my own good."

"Uh-huh," the Senator said, taking his first bite. "Do you ever wish you weren't a Jedi?"

Jaina sighed. So much for a peaceful and _quiet_ meal. It was more than unfair that her master was not here to suffer with her. "Nope."

"Not ever? Not even once? You've never considered what it might be like to have a different life?"

"No."

The Senator sat back, taking another spoonful of Fondor fowl in. "It never bothered you that you didn't have a choice about being a Jedi? That you were given to the Temple as a baby?"

"You sound as though you're regretting your defense of us against the Quarren's allegations. Yes, Senator," she said at the shocked expression on his face, "due to my, as you said, 'pretty tough' master, I'm one of those Padawans kept well-aware of what's happening everywhere at every time. Even, despite our dislike for it, in the Senate."

"Er…no, not at all," he continued. "Only a fool or a troublemaker believes the Jedi are baby thieves."

"But?" Jaina asked, leaning back in her own seat, having not touched her own food yet.

"But…" Organa shrugged. "I have wondered, from time to time, about the way Jedi are raised. You must admit…'Padawan Jaina'…?"

"Just 'Jaina' is fine."

"You must admit, Jaina, it's not exactly a…normal…life."

"That would depend on how you define _normal_, Senator," Jaina said, shaking her head. "While it's true that many children are given to the Temple as infants, no child is kept with us against his or her will. The Temple isn't some kind of…prison," she shuddered. "It's a home. It's a school. It's…a world within a world. A safe haven for those born with peculiar sensitivity to the Force. Believe me, Senator, there is more suffering experienced by those Force-sensitives denied Jedi training than any Padawan you might meet."

"So there is suffering?" asked Organa, disposing of his emptied mealpack. "You don't deny it?"

"Nobody's life is devoid of suffering, Senator."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," he said, his gaze at her narrowing. "Come on, Jaina. Don't dance with me."

"If you're asking me whether or not it is difficult sometimes being a Jedi then the answer is yes," Jaina said evenly. "We get sent on difficult, more often than not _deadly_, missions, are sometimes in command of a large number of troops we did not ask for and have responsibilities thrust upon us…regardless of our age…" she added, gesturing at herself. "_But…_is it your assertion that being a Senator is a bed of haffa-blossoms?"

The Senator snorted. "One full of thorns, probably. But at least I'm not forbidden—what's it called? _Attachment._ At least I don't have to pretend I don't care about things; about people."

"There are many different ways of caring, Senator," Jaina said, leaning forward. "As you can see, the Jedi have the Master-Padawan system, proof in itself that we are capable of caring. Surely, just because our way is different, you're not so arrogant as to claim your way is superior to everyone else?"

"Huh…" Organa said, looking amused and irritated at the same time. He laughed. "You know, Jaina, for a Jedi student, you're a pretty good debater. You should think about a career in the Senate for your future."

Jaina wrinkled her nose. "I think I prefer the way my future looks right now, Senator."

"You and your master really don't like us, do you?" The Senator asked, intrigued. "Politicians, I mean, as a breed. What did we ever do to you, that you'd be so—"

"What?" Jaina asked, raising an eyebrow.

Organa held up a hand and pulled out a tiny comlink from inside his blue tunic. "Contact," he said. "Excuse me."

Jaina blew out a long breath and forked a piece of her own Fondor fowl before taking a small bite.

"Well, I'm happy to see that my Padawan knows her pro-Jedi points in case an impromptu debate, such as this one, rises," Obi-Wan said, coming out from nowhere and suddenly sitting next to her with a grin on his face.

"Well, what can I say, I learned from the best," Jaina said, laughing. "Were you just there by the doorway the whole time? You didn't bother to chime in?"

"I'm sorry, but I didn't want to interrupt," Obi-Wan said chuckling.

Jaina rolled her eyes and finished the rest of her meal. She picked up the empty mealpack, along with the Senator's, then used the Force to crush them into a tiny cube before disposing it in the waste shoot.

She and Obi-Wan entered the cockpit where they found Organa in the pilot's seat, programming coordinates into the nav computer.

"Where to now?" Obi-Wan asked. "If you don't mind my asking."

"Don't know yet," the Senator said punching the 'calculate' key. "Ah. Atzerri. More or less. Assuming nothing goes wrong, nearly seventeen hours' flight time."

Jaina blinked at him. "Well. That's _a lot_ of time."

Organa scratched the back of his neck, shrugging. "Yes, it is. Something wrong, Master Kenobi?"

Jaina turned around and looked at her master.

"Not at all. Tell me, Senator, how is it your contact knows when it's time to transmit the next coordinates?"

"They have my private link ID," the Senator replied. "The message I left on it, saying I was taking care of some family business, was our prearranged start's flag. After that, I suppose it's a simple case of chrono-watching and mathematics."

"I see. And—given Coruscant's recently adopted security measures—how is it you've managed to keep the communications from your contact secret? I am assuming that all incoming transmissions are monitored, as well as outgoing?"

Jaina frowned, her mind not quite processing what her master was saying.

Organa sighed. "You need me to spell it out for you, Master Kenobi?"

"Do you want to know why we distrust politicians, Senator? _This _is why. You have a disconcerting habit of making up rules that don't even apply to you. It's a common hobby for those in power, I've found," Obi-Wan said.

"I didn't hear you complain when I filed that bogus flight plan!"

"Senator, you know perfectly well that such an action falls under the purview of the Clandestine Operative Act," Jaina said, everything her master had said falling into place. "As Jedi, we have often filed false flight plans ourselves."

"You are being—disingenuous," Obi-Wan said. "I doubt the same legislation covers your activities."

"No. It doesn't," the Senator said softly. "And if you think I'm happy about it, you're wrong. But I can live with it. Because I know I'm not acting against the Republic's interests, I'm acting _in_ its interests. Right now, I'm probably risking my life for its interests. So I'd be careful, if I were you, about accusing me of disloyalty."

"I would never do that, Senator," Obi-Wan said. "I don't question your motives, or your commitment to the Republic. But it's so easy to justify and rationalize one's actions. To find an excuse for doing what we want to do even though we know it's wrong. Yes, your motives are pure. But will that be true of the next politician who ignores the rule of law? Who says, _Trust me. What I'm doing is illegal but it's for such a good reason._"

"I had no idea the Jedi were so cynical," Organa said, shaking his head.

"Not cynical," her master said gently. "Realistic. We do get to see rather a lot of the galaxy, Senator. And we're called in so often to clean up the messes politicians have made."

"Politicians don't just make messes, Master Kenobi. Good things are achieved too. I think the scales are more evenly balanced than you'll admit."

"Perhaps. It's an interesting hypothesis, at any rate. But rather than debate it now, I suggest we continue our mission. I fear our window of opportunity might be closing as we speak."

"True," the Senator said. "But I want to get one thing straight before we make another jump. You Jedi see things, right? Feel things? Other places, other times. I mean, you knew something had happened to your former Padawan. You woke up, and you _knew._"

"I fail to see what—"

"Don't interrupt me, and I'll explain. I know you think you're humoring me right now. Letting me tag along with you like a—a pesky kid. And maybe you think I need protecting like a kid. But I don't. In fact, I won't stand for it. So if your Jedi powers show you something about us—about this mission—you tell me. If we're flying into danger, you tell me. You don't keep it to yourself because you think I'm a soft politician who can't deal with harsh realities."

"Do you think I would lie to you, Senator?"

"In a heartbeat," Organa said quickly. "If you thought it was for my own good. But _my own good_ is what _I _determine it to be; not you. So I want your word that what you know, you tell me. The moment you know it. Or I swear I will turn this ship around right now and take you back to Coruscant."

"And continue on your own?"

"Yes."

"That would be a grave mistake, Senator."

"Maybe," he replied, shrugging. "But I'll make it without thinking twice. If you Jedi really can read people, you know I mean it."

Obi-Wan exchanged a look with Jaina and sighed. "Very well, Senator. You have my word," he smiled thinly. "And just for the record: beyond a general, and not unreasonable, unease, I do not feel we are in danger."

"For now. But how long will that be true?"

"I cannot say, Senator."

"Because the dark side clouds everything?"

Jaina's eyebrows rose, her master wearing a similar expression.

"It's something Padmé said once," the Senator said quickly. "I've never forgotten it."

"It was a figure of speech, Senator," her master said after a moment. "The Jedi are hardly crippled. If there is danger, I will sense it. _And_ I will tell you."

"Okay," Organa said, nodding. "I can live with that." He brought the ship into hyperspace. "But you know, you really need a better reason for disliking me than the fact that I'm a politician. Disliking me just for that makes you shallow. And you're a lot of things, Master Kenobi, but shallow isn't one of them. Maybe you can think up a few more reasons while I'm getting some sleep."

This time, Jaina's jaw _did _drop.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "I'll do my best, Senator."

"I'll bet you will." Organa said, leaving the cockpit with a brief, twisted smile.

"Jeez," Jaina grumbled wryly. "He _sure_ knows how to talk to a respected Jedi Master."

Obi-Wan exhaled sharply. "The Force is testing me," he said, sliding into the pilot's seat. "_Twelve years_ of Qui-Gon, _ten years_ of Anakin and now I get him."

Jaina grinned and took the co-pilot's seat. "Well, I'm glad I didn't make the list."

* * *

Days later, or at least, she thought it'd been days, Jaina walked around the tiny ship, claustrophobia beginning to engulf her. She'd run out of things to do hours ago, having gone through the holobooks she'd brought with her several times, even _triple_-checking their survival packs.

There was not much space in the passenger compartment to practice her saber techniques, but she'd done so anyways, painfully stubbing her toe on one of the bunks in the process.

Now, she was simply walking around the confined space between the cockpit and the passenger compartment, not wanting to disturb Senator Organa and his Senatorial duties in the cockpit or her master and his needed sleep in the passenger space.

Jaina exhaled and leaned against the wall, blowing her bangs off her face. She could practically picture Master Anakin and Ahsoka dueling Grievous now, or maybe cutting down droids to reach R2-D2. She could see Gaspard and Master Muln on some planet, negotiating with its leaders not to join the Confederacy. Or Faithe and Master Siri in their starfighters blowing up droids to bits.

Jaina frowned, wondering for a second what she was doing _here,_ in the cockpit of a Senator's ship, doing absolutely _nothing_.

She felt a twinge of jealousy, wishing she was back out in the middle of the battlefield, or in the cockpit of a starfighter, or even facing impossible odds in a lightsaber duel against Grievous, Ventress or…_Dooku_.

Well, maybe not him. But she wished she was doing _something_.

Jaina wrinkled her nose, grimacing at the image of herself, petite as she was, against the tall, imposing, lethal Count Dooku.

She shuddered and decided to go back to sleep, walking towards the passenger compartment. The air was stuffy now, since they'd been in that ship for days without any stops. She felt like a caged animal. Although she'd probably get herself killed in a battle at this moment, considering she _still_ didn't feel like herself after those explosions, she'd prefer it to being stuck in a tiny ship.

The door to the passenger compartment slid open and her master, barefoot, stripped down to his leggings with his lightsaber hilt in his right palm, stood on his _hand_ at the centre of the room. Several things were floating around him, and in the several seconds Jaina stood staring in awe, he eased from one meticulous position to another.

Jaina snapped out of it and, gasping, she looked away, horrified. "_I'm sorry_! I didn't mean to interrupt your alchaka meditations, Master."

"It's all right, I was just finishing," he said, and, without a sound, he was back on his feet with his tunic on. Obi-Wan was sweaty, his breathing slightly heavy, but other than that, nobody would have guessed that this was a man who'd been blown up days before.

"How…" Jaina marveled. "Jeez. You'd think that after four explosions, you'd lose at least _some_ of your grace."

Obi-Wan half-smiled. "Not quite."

"A man gets himself blown up, you'd think he'd have a few scars too," Organa said, from behind the doorway.

Jaina turned around, unaware that he'd been behind her the whole time.

"Jedi healing is most effective," her Master said lightly.

"Yeah. So I saw. One scar only, on your arm."

Obi-Wan exhaled, frustrated. "From a lightsaber. If I'd realized it would distress you, Senator, I'd have worn my tunic during my private meditation."

"I'm not distressed, just curious."

"You're not curious, you're critical," Obi-Wan said, sitting on his bunk bed.

"Are you suggesting that we should have refused healing?" Jaina asked, incredulous. "Had we done so, Senator, we most certainly would have _died_."

"No, no," Organa said quickly. "No, of course I'm not suggesting that."

"Then what?" Obi-Wan asked. "Senator, if you have an observation to make about the Jedi, you should feel free to make it. We are not some secret society, immune from public commentary."

"No. But you are pretty mysterious."

"Mysterious?" Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten us, how are we mysterious?"

"Ha," Organa snorted. "Now, who's being disingenuous? Sure, you've got—"

A loud beeping echoed from the cockpit, stopping everyone in the middle of their conversation.

"That would be the navicomputer," Jaina said, resting her hands on her hips. "We've reached Atzerri."

Organa pursed his lips but walked to the cockpit, Jaina and Obi-Wan behind him. "You know much about this region of the Republic?" He asked, sitting on the pilot's seat.

Obi-Wan nodded bleakly. "I know a little. I was involved in settling a dispute on Antar Four—nearly sixteen years ago now."

"Sixteen years…" the Senator chewed his lip. "The colfillini plantation dispute? You were involved in that debacle?"

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "Well, I didn't cause it, if that's what you're suggesting."

"I know what caused it—local organized crime. My uncle was murdered by that scum. Killed in cold blood, just for standing up to thugs who thought working people to death was acceptable economic practice."

Obi-Wan looked disturbed. "The agricultural expert, Tayvor Mandirly? He was your uncle?"

"My mother's youngest brother," Organa said, grimacing. "She never got over what they did to him. In the end, his death killed her. So you could say they murdered _two_ members of my family."

"I'm sorry."

"Raxis and Nolid should have paid for what they did."

"They did pay, Senator."

"_Fines_," Organa spat. "Money. They should have paid more. They shouldn't have been allowed to buy their way to absolution. You Jedi should've made them pay a _real_ price."

Obi-Wan sighed. "We are not executioners, Senator. Nor are we instruments of vengeance. The government of Antar Four asked us to assist them in apprehending those responsible for outrages committed on the planet's largest colfillini plantation, and we did. What happened after that was an internal matter. We are limited by our mandate."

"That's easy for you to say! Did you see what those animals did to Tayvor? Did you _see_ how he—"

"_Senator, I found him_."

Jaina looked up at her master's grim face.

Organa stared at him too. "Oh. I didn't know that," he said quietly. "I never knew the names of the Jedi who went to Antar Four."

"Yes, well," Obi-Wan said dryly. "Those were the days when the Jedi were not HoloNet news stars."

"So. It was you," Organa said, shaking his head. "Coincidence. Small galaxy, isn't it?"

"Sometimes it feels that way."

"I don't mean to interrupt," Jaina said softly, "but the next coordinates have arrived. Munto Codru."

Organa stiffened before he punched the coordinates in the nav computer. "That's…a long way from the Core Worlds."

"Senator," Obi-Wan said, sighing. "I think we need to reconsider our situation."

"Why? We've got plenty of supplies. The ship's still around. What is there to reconsider?"

"Your participation in this mission," he said bluntly. "We have no idea how much farther from home your contact will send us. If that holobook is accurate and Zigoola is in Wild Space, we might well end up deep within the Unknown Regions."

"Surely not. Why would the Sith be all the way out there?"

"I think we're all forgetting the possibility that this is all one huge trap set for us," Jaina said loudly, planting her hands on her hips. "They Sith could very well be on Coruscant, in the safety of their homes, watching amusedly from afar as we bring ourselves to our own doom."

"My Padawan is right" Obi-Wan said. "With the Sith, anything is possible. My point, Senator, is that it's not _safe_ out here."

Organa faked a shocked expression mockingly. "Not safe? Master Kenobi, I had no idea! Why didn't you warn me? Quick! Let's go home!"

"Honestly, Senator Organa, that really _doesn't_ help," Jaina said, her temper reaching its boiling point.

"Mock me if you must, Senator," Obi-Wan said, looking just as close to exploding as Jaina was. "But I would be remiss if I did not point out that while we have traveled without incident until now, our circumstances might easily and swiftly alter. There is still time to change your mind."

"Do you want to turn back?" Organa asked, looking at them steadily. "You don't seem to be half as critical of bringing a teenage girl into Wild Space as you are of bringing me."

"No. But this isn't about me, _or_ my Padawan. We are Jedi. This is what we do. _You_ are a married Republic Senator."

"I don't want to turn back," the Senator said flatly. "I don't want to give up. I want to stop the Sith, and put a face to the faceless people who've been helping me all these years. And to be perfectly frank, Master Kenobi, I'm getting pretty tired of your attitude. Would you be asking Padmé if she wanted to turn back?"

"Padmé isn't here, Senator. I am merely concerned for your safety."

"Let me say this for the last time, Master Kenobi: you let me worry about that."

"Very well, Senator," Obi-Wan said after a few moments. "It's your decision. I can only hope you don't come to regret it. Padawan."

Jaina followed her master out of the cockpit and into the tiny corridor before the passenger compartment.

Obi-Wan brought out his comlink and tried to contact Yoda. But their distance from the Temple prevented his comm signal from being able to reach the venerable Master.

"Maybe there are other Jedi nearby," Jaina suggested. "We're fighting on many fronts in the Outer Rim, there has to be at least one Jedi near this system."

"If I'm not mistaken, Master Gallia is on Agomar," Obi-Wan said, readying his comm. "I'll ask her to relay the message."

Seconds later, the quiet voice of Adi Gallia rose from their comm. "_Master Kenobi_."

"Master Gallia," Obi-Wan greeted. "Would it be possible for you to relay a message to the Temple for us? We're running an errand too far away from the Temple and we can't get a signal."

"_Not a problem, Master Kenobi_," she said. "_This is for the Council?_"

"Yes. Actually, more specifically, it's for Masters Yoda and Windu," he said. "Please inform them that we're about to jump to Munto Codru, and we're assuming that this journey may take us even further and into Wild Space."

"_I will relay the message as soon as possible, Master Kenobi_," Master Gallia said. "_Be careful_. _May the Force be with you_."

"And with you, Adi," Obi-Wan said, and he cut the link.

Jaina couldn't help but wonder how conversations between Jedi Masters had been reduced to short, curt sentences. Neither of them had asked about the other's situation and although Jaina knew that it was not because they lacked concern, but because the days were they could talk freely were well behind, she still felt shocked and even a little sad.

Obi-Wan opened the door to the cockpit. "When you're ready, Senator."

"I'm ready," Organa growled, running a check on the nav console's calculations. "Munto Codru coming up."

The stars streaked outside the viewport as they left real space and went into lightspeed. Jaina felt a growing foreboding that continued to worsen as they got farther and farther away from Coruscant. She had a bad feeling that things were going to be _more_ than difficult for this particular mission.

"If you'll excuse us, Senator," Obi-Wan said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "We have meditation to perform."

Jaina groaned.

"Sure," the Senator said, switching his datapad on. "Knock yourself out. Don't let me hold you up."

Jaina's mouth dropped open. The tone was bored, curt even. It was the tone of a Galactic Senator _dismissing_ a subordinate. Jaina prepared to retort when Obi-Wan tightened his grip on her shoulder, almost painfully, and began walking back to the passenger compartment.

She could sense his aggravation beginning to border on fury. Jaina had to admire him for being able to walk away without another word after someone had the _nerve_ to say things like that.

She sighed and followed him to the passenger compartment, where they would do one of the things that made Jaina different from her master, because he enjoyed them, she didn't.

Though she knew they helped in every aspect of life, she preferred not to do it as much as Master Obi-Wan did. Either way, she was not going to protest to her master _now_. Complaining would be a great idea if she wanted to get her head chopped off.

So, Jaina played the role of the perfect, obedient little Padawan flawlessly, a role she found was beginning to merge with her own self. She sighed inaudibly and followed her master, a respectful half-pace behind and to his left, to do the thing she really disliked: Meditate.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, everyone! Next chapter is going to be action-packed, that much I can spill, so stay tuned! :) I really, really appreciate reviews and comments, they help me with my writing and inspire me to write faster :) **

**Reader: My pleasure! It's the readers who make me write faster ;)**

**Darth Sith'ari: Felt guilty for the terribly long wait so I decided to write fast for those two, I hope the quality is still just as good though, even if it was a little rushed :)  
**

**Scorpling-No-Okami: Awww thank you so much! That review means a lot! :D With readers like you, you can trust me to keep writing ;)**

**Expect a new update soon, everyone! :D**


	20. Foreboding

Chapter 19 - Foreboding

The feeling of being afloat was a pleasant one during meditation. Obi-Wan continued to float in the nothingness, feeling the Force flowing from every direction. Visions would appear to him once in a while, vague as they usually were, and he continued to concentrate and keep an open mind.

Tayvor Mandirly's pain-filled face appeared; the Force showed him the endless days he spent after that horrific mission, waking up in the middle of the night screaming for the man's name. Qui-Gon had been a great master then, trying to help him cope with everything to the best of his abilities. Obi-Wan had never been more grateful to the Force for having given him Qui-Gon as a Master.

The vision blurred, and the scene before him changed. The understanding face of Qui-Gon vanished, along with Mandirly's mutilated corpse. Now, his Padawan stood in front of him, hands clasped behind her back, her face completely impassive, yet her emotions were chaotic. He could sense her inner turmoil as though they were tangible waves striking him from all directions.

There was still a deep, unfathomable fear that she was not good enough; that she would only get herself killed and fail those around her. A fear that what had happened a week ago during the explosions would happen again, on an even larger scale. A fear that her Master had made the mistake of choosing her as a Padawan in the first place.

Obi-Wan felt a sudden urge to protect and comfort her. Underneath the stoic exterior she held together day-to-day in the battlefield, underneath her extraordinary achievements and successes, and even deeper underneath her most secret and most personal fears, was a fourteen year-old girl. A teenage girl, who had suffered so much, had been pushed way beyond her limits and dangerously close to her breaking points.

And Obi-Wan, as much as he wanted to protect her from seeing and doing things so grueling or so frightening that she would remember them for the rest of her life, had to continue pushing both her and himself forward, knowing that only _more_ hardships were coming their way.

What disturbed him the most was that under that deep fear was an even darker emotion. A _fierce_, ardent desire to prove herself. So intense that she was willing to do almost anything to make up for what she felt was her fault.

Obi-Wan knew that emotion, had felt it often during his childhood. He knew what it was like to look up to Qui-Gon and want so badly to please him during his years as a Padawan. It was the same way Jaina looked at him every day.

The way she grinned each extremely rare time she won a sparring match or when she beamed after earning a compliment. The way her shoulders sunk when he'd reprimand her or when she'd sigh quietly as she realized her mistake. He didn't think she knew that he noticed these tiny things, yet as her master, it was his duty and his responsibility to.

After those four explosions, Obi-Wan knew that her desire to prove herself had been pushed to the next level. He knew that he would have to watch her closely, prevent her from making an even bigger mistake and eventually help her move on from the previous one.

As her blank face began to disappear, Obi-Wan knew that at least, he'd made some progress with this meditation.

Now, the vision before him was starkly different. Jaina was on the ground, next to a crumpled figure and holding _his_ lightsaber in her palm. Her expression was tortured, face full of dirt and tears, and from the way she kept tightening her grip on his saber hilt, he could tell that she was a step away from stabbing herself with it.

She bit her bottom lip and nodded at the crumpled figure, her face now a mask of utter resolve. Then she lifted the saber above the figure's leg…

Obi-Wan's eyes flew open, and he immediately felt as though a large part of him had been ripped away. Abruptly halting meditation was not advised, especially when one intended to go as deep as he had just gone.

He felt slightly light-headed, and gazed around the tiny passenger compartment where he'd been sitting. Everything was just how he remembered: their bags and boots were on the ground, he was atop his bunk bed and across from him, temporarily sitting on the Senator's, was Jaina, also meditating.

Obi-Wan chuckled out loud. "Or not…"

Jaina, whom he originally thought was deep in meditation as he had instructed, was still sitting cross-legged; only she was leaning on the back of the bunk, and quiet snores were echoing in the cramped passenger compartment.

Obi-Wan exhaled, trying to piece together everything he had seen during his long meditation. He glanced at his chrono and decided that maybe his Padawan had a reason for drifting asleep, that maybe he'd been meditating for a much longer time than he'd planned on.

Obi-Wan stood up and gently shifted Jaina into a lying position, slipped the blanket over her and walked back to his bunk. He got under the covers himself and decided to contemplate on his eventful meditation after a long, much-needed sleep.

* * *

"Don't lose it," Obi-Wan said quietly, sitting down on his bunk bed and observing his Padawan. She was barefoot and lightly clothed, in the centre of the room, struggling to remain balanced on her hand. "Focus."

It was crucial that she regained her confidence in herself, but it was equally as important, if not _more _important, that she regained the physical capabilities she had _before_ the accident. And as much as he didn't like pushing her _too_ far, that meant repeated vigorous exercises.

"Lift the last survival pack and shift to the next position," he instructed, gesturing at the bag nearby.

Though she tried to remain impassive, the strain was beginning to become evident on her face. The survival pack began to float shakily and Jaina slowly lowered her right hand to the ground.

She took in a deep breath and lowered her legs to the ground too, still keeping her hands where they were. She was now arched, facing the ceiling, her hands supporting her upper body and her legs supporting the lower.

There was a brief moment where her face twisted with real strain before she managed to return to her stoic expression. "It's okay to find it difficult," Obi-Wan said gently. "It's normal to _fail_ at these alchaka meditations, but sometimes trying is everything."

"Doesn't that…contradict what Master Yoda…always says, Master…?" Jaina managed to ask, lightly using her legs and pushing herself back to a handstand briefly, then flipping back to her feet. "The whole 'do or do not, there is no try' thing? Sorry. But I think my body's about to fall apart."

"It's all right, we're done for today," Obi-Wan said, waving a hand. "Okay wrong choice of words. _Striving_ is everything, not trying. We don't need to succeed. Working on the fluidity of our movements and our stamina helps us physically. Especially in preparation for battles, as I'm sure you're aware. It also strengthens our connection with the Force, as it is a form of meditation, and moments like those where we do not think, but feel, will help us mentally during those battles. We may fail, but we gain so much from merely striving, that it is already a _success_."

Jaina blew out a breath and sipped from her nearby water. "Well, I have to say, the old me would have enjoyed these _alchaka_ meditations more than the typical meditations. The new me is shockingly sore."

"Well, it looks like our goal should be to get the old you back then, Padawan."

She nodded slowly, her eyes not doing a convincing job of hiding her fears. "Yes, I think it should, Master."

"Knock, knock, Master Kenobi, Jaina," Organa's voice came from outside the passenger compartment. "We've reached Munto Codru."

Obi-Wan exhaled deeply, gazing at his Padawan and noticing her grimace for the tiniest second. "We'll be right out, Senator."

Jaina sighed and put her outer tunic, belt and boots back on. She clipped her lightsaber back to her belt and simply stood there for a second. "Master?"

Obi-Wan nodded and all his visions during his meditation the night before flooding back. "Let's go."

"Something's wrong." She said quietly, staying as he made his way to the door. "Is the Senator in danger?"

"No," Obi-Wan said, stopping before the door. "No, it's not the Senator."

Jaina stayed silent for a few seconds. "It's me then, isn't it…?" she asked quietly. "Master, like the Senator, I need to know if you see something wrong happening in the near future."

"I'm sorry, Padawan, but you're wrong there," he said, turning around to face her. "As your Master, it is my obligation to decide what you need to know and what you don't. For now, you know all you need to."

Jaina opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it and nodded, unhappy. "Yes, Master."

Obi-Wan didn't like this at all, but telling her of his visions would only add oxygen to a huge flame. He opened the door and made his way to the cockpit, his Padawan a swirl of emotions behind him.

* * *

"It's been nearly seven hours and not a whisper," Organa said, his fingers drumming his thigh impatiently. "They've never made us wait this long before."

Obi-Wan glanced outside the viewport and at the looming planet. Their ship was hidden in the shadow of the twelfth moon, unobserved. Below them was Munto Codru, sparkling with lights from its cities.

"Be patient, Senator," he said. "If your contact is as reliable as you claim, we will hear from them."

Organa glared at him. "Patience is all well and good, but we can't sit here forever."

"No, we can't," Obi-Wan said mildly.

"Master, it's only a matter of time before we attract the attention of the Codru-Ji," Jaina said, looking up from her holobook. "Which is...not advisable."

Organa glared at them both again. "Then what do you suggest?"

"An hour," Obi-Wan said, slipping into meditation. "Let's give your contact one more hour."

But less than thirty minutes later, Obi-Wan snapped out of his meditation when Organa's comlink began buzzing. Instead of a coded shortburst, a female, human voice came from the other side.

"_Senator Organa, do you copy?_"

Organa, startled, snatched his comlink. "Yes! Yes, I copy. I hear you. Who is this? Who am I speaking to?"

"_A friend._"

"Yes, I know that. But—"

"_Names can wait, Senator. I'll introduce myself properly when we meet._"

Organa was gripping the comlink so tightly, Obi-Wan was afraid he'd break it. "I've been looking forward to that. Where are you, somewhere close?"

"_Close enough_," the woman said. "_I'll shortburst you the nav comp coordinates in a moment_."

"We thought something had gone wrong," Organa said. "You took so long to—"

"_A precaution. We wanted to be certain you were truly alone before allowing you to see us face-to-face_."

"Of course I'm alone," Organa said, frowning. "Well, aside from the Jedi who have accompanied me. Surely you know by now that I honor our agreement to the letter."

"_These are dangerous times, Senator_," the female said. "_It doesn't pay to take anything or anyone for granted. Not even you. Not even the Jedi_."

"I appreciate that," Organa said. "And I hope you know I don't take you for granted. What you've done, what you're doing now—"

"_Thanks can wait too, Senator_," she said. "_Let's focus on defeating the Sith. Stand by for our coordinates and transponder beacon frequency. It'll guide you right to our front door._"

"Understood. We'll see you soon."

"These friends of yours are indeed very cautious," Jaina remarked, as they waited for the coded shortburst.

"I told you," Organa said. "So it's a good thing you and Master Yoda didn't try anything tricky—like have another Jedi trail us."

"Senator?" Obi-Wan said, keeping his face blank.

"Don't tell me you and Master Yoda didn't discuss it," Organa said mildly, inputting the new coordinates into the nav comp. "Back on Coruscant. In my apartment."

Obi-Wan sighed. "What Master Yoda and I discussed then is hardly relevant now, Senator. You and I are here, and about to meet your contact. I suggest you decode that shortburst so we don't keep these Friends of the Republic waiting. After all, that would be impolite."

He glanced to the side where his Padawan was concealing a snicker, then smiled courteously at the Senator while Organa inputted the coordinates, jumped the ship into hyperspace and withdrew to the passenger compartment.

"Well, Master, I have to say," Jaina said, laughing slightly and dropping in the copilot's seat, "You are getting better at irritating the Senator the way he's irritating us."

* * *

Nine parsecs and several hours later, Obi-Wan found himself tremendously uneasy as he watched Bail Organa step into the cockpit holding a small, lethal-looking blaster and strapping it to his hip.

"Senator—"

"I don't want to hear it, Master Kenobi."

"Nevertheless, I feel obliged to tell you that during my meditation, something—a feeling—arose but I can't pin it down."

"What do you mean you can't pin it down?" Organa asked, anxious. "You're a Jedi."

"Which has never equated to being infallible," Jaina remarked dryly, waking from her own meditation and shifting back to a sitting position on her chair.

"Breathlessly gushing HoloNet news reports notwithstanding," Obi-Wan added.

"But there's trouble?" Organa persisted, sitting in the pilot's seat next to Obi-Wan. "You're sure of that much?"

"I'm sure I have a bad feeling," he replied. 'Which I'd be foolish to ignore. How far out are we?"

Organa checked the nav console. "Oh. We're not far. We're practically there. What do you want to do?"

Obi-Wan wanted to turn back time so none of this would happen or tie him hand and foot and stuff him in a cupboard. Jaina giggled quietly, picking up on the thought.

"Proceed," Obi-Wan said. "I don't see that we have any choice."

"No," Organa said, sitting down in the pilot's chair. "We don't. Dropping out of hyperspace in three—two—one—"

The elongated stars returned to their normal state and Obi-Wan felt a surge of foreboding. They were in the middle of nowhere now, far beyond Coruscant. And in the middle of the black nothingness that was now engulfing them, was a tiny space station. It was many decades old and Obi-Wan guessed it was Corellian in design.

Jaina glanced at the nav computer. "Master, I don't recall any sort of space station being maintained in this sector, it's too far from Republic space, or even Sep space for that matter."

Obi-Wan brought a hand subconsciously to his chin. "You're right, there is no base in this sector. This seems to be decades old."

Organa looked at them both. "Still got your bad feeling?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan and Jaina said simultaneously.

"So—maybe it's not such a good idea to activate their homing beacon."

"Maybe not," Obi-Wan agreed. "I suggest we glide in, Senator. No bells and whistles. No signature at all. A nice, inconspicuous—"

"_Silent_—" Jaina added.

"Approach," he finished.

"Uh-huh. All right," Organa said, sighing. "It'll be like trying to glide a brick, but I'll do my best. And have you got a nice big blanket we can hide under while we're at it? They're going to have external security cams, you can bet on it."

"If they do," Jaina said quietly, and Obi-Wan was disheartened to hear a large amount of fear in her tone, "I have a nasty suspicion they're no longer functioning."

Both Obi-Wan and Organa turned around to look at her. "Padawan, is there something I need to know?" He asked sternly.

Jaina shook her head. "I haven't gotten any more leads than you, Master. Just that…_feeling_."

"You tell me if that feeling gets worse, okay?" Obi-Wan said, gently this time.

Jaina nodded. "Yes, Master."

"Senator, I strongly suspect we are flying into mayhem," Obi-Wan said, turning back to the Senator.

"Not flying," Organa said mockingly, rolling his eyes. "_Gliding_. Like a brick. Hold on, here we go."

Organa jerked the ship forward, earning a quick gasp of air from behind, before Jaina's long, disapproving exhale. Obi-Wan gripped the sides of his chair tightly. Like a brick indeed.

The Senators white knuckles were tightly clutching the controls now, preventing them from crashing into the station and his face was grim and focused. He was not boasting earlier on, he was an adequate pilot. But even excellent pilots sometimes needed a small boost.

"Jaina," Obi-Wan called quietly.

"Yes, Master," came the attentive reply.

Together, Master and Padawan sunk into the Force, gathering its power to him. He concentrated, seeing, hearing and feeling _everything_ around him now. He extended his senses and his control, wrapped it around the struggling ship, the _brick_, and cradled it in the Force's energy.

Similarly, his Padawan was deep in concentration, helping him strengthen the bubble he'd put around the ship. The ship's jerky movements smoothed; became almost frictionless as it floated towards the space station.

"What the kriff?!" Organa started, letting go of the joystick.

"Relax, Senator," Obi-Wan said calmly, not bothering to open his eyes. "There is to need to worry."

"Easy for you to say," Organa grumbled.

"Think of us as your copilots," Jaina said, strained, from behind them.

"And be calm," Obi-Wan added.

He extended his control, exerting his will on the bulky ship. It was almost a part of his body now, responding as quickly as any of his limbs would.

"Master, we've got a clear docking ring off port," Jaina said, slightly more relaxed.

"I see it, Jaina."

"I really think we need to slow down, Master."

He felt Jaina's efforts tightening their bubble around the ship, and she began extending her own control, slowing it down slightly. He began tightening his own control, making it glide even slower and slower. Organa was still at the helm controls, assisting them even without the Force.

Their bulky ship docked within the space station, as gracefully as any Jedi starfighter.

Organa exhaled heavily and leaned back. "Now, that—that was something. That was—that was—"

"That was the Force, Senator," Obi-Wan said, pulling himself back to reality and feeling apprehensive. That sense of foreboding they felt earlier on the ship had doubled as soon as they landed.

He glanced back at Jaina, who was staring out the viewport, her cheeks flushed, eyebrows tightly furrowed and lips drawn firmly together.

"Vape it," Organa said, looking around. "It's got some kind of shielding, I can't read through it."

"I can," Obi-Wan said grimly, touching his lightsaber. "Senator, are you sure you want to do this? Are you _competent _to do this? Answer me honestly."

"We're on the brink of an abyss," Jaina said quietly, turning away from the viewport.

Organa eyed them both. For the first time, his eyes were uncertain. "Yes, Master Jedi, I'm sure and I'm competent. I must do this. I know it probably sounds crazy but those are my people in there."

Obi-Wan sighed, looking out the viewport and at the space station. This was the epitome of a bad idea, and here he was, dragging a civilian, a _senator_, right into the middle of it.

"Master Kenobi, we're burning daylight," Organa said, standing up from the pilot seat and tightly gripping his blaster.

"Then come, Senator," Obi-Wan said, snapping his lightsaber free. Jaina followed suit and slung her survival pack over her shoulders. They walked out the cockpit and towards the ships landing ramp.

Jaina stiffened behind him and she bit her bottom lip with a mixture of anxiety and focus. Obi-Wan didn't need to ask, all the ominous feelings were beginning to engulf him too. He placed his hand on the lever that would lower the ramp. "Let's go and save your people, Senator. If we can."

Obi-Wan pulled the lever and the lamp lowered. His companions gasped, Jaina's almost inaudible, and when he glanced at them, they wore similarly startled, sickened and dismayed expressions on their faces.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, my bad, action starts in the NEXT chapter, not this one :D Teehee, sorry! Should be up really soon, sorry for taking long on this one. I really appreciate COMMENTS AND REVIEWS :) Usually makes me write faster and improve my story. Read, review and enjoy! :)**

**Call Starr: LOL Thanks! And it's a good thing you're not Jaina, because their boots are pretty huge LOL :P**

**charliebrown1234: Yikes! 5 hours is pretty long! Haha. Thank you! Zigoola will be coming soon, and I sense a lot of emotional and physical hardships in the near, near future :D**

**Ben Keto 1415: Thanks! Just had to show his 'politician' side. Annoyed me too while I wrote! And Jaina and Obi-Wan while they were stuck with him! LOL**

**xfighter4: Welcome to the story! And thanks! I will!  
**


	21. Mayhem

Chapter 20 - Mayhem

Jaina had seen corpses before, spies, bounty hunters, even Jedi. Despite the millions of droids that would rage into the battlefield, there were still those sentient beings unfortunate enough to have been hired by the Separatists, still some Jedi who missed one crucial, fatal shot, still some civilians who ran too close to an explosion.

She'd seen enough corpses to sometimes lose that sinking feeling in her gut every time she saw a dead body. But this was different.

At the bottom of their landing ramp lay three awkwardly positioned human corpses in a pool of blood. She clutched her lightsaber with her sweaty palm, her thumb anxiously tapping the activation button.

This was nauseating; the corpses' positions were extremely awkward, as though they had been walking towards their ship when they were suddenly shot down. Each of the men had a revolting, fist-sized hole burned through their chest, oozing with blood.

Jaina closed her eyes, her chest tightening. These poor men probably had no idea that they were about to be ambushed when they were killed. Yet more losses brought about by the war; some might have considered their deaths insignificant, but a death was still a death, and she offered them a respectful moment of silence.

A _snap-hiss_ erupted next to her and Jaina was relieved to see her master ignite his lightsaber. She followed suit, feeling a small sense of relief at her familiarity with the weapon.

Obi-Wan knelt down and checked the pulses of the men. Their blue lightsabers were casting a frightening, ghostly glow in the tiny docking bay, leaving behind ominous shadows behind crates and other things scattered around. The hair on the back of Jaina's neck stood and her senses were on high alert now.

"They're gone," her master said, fluidly rising back until he was standing.

Jaina nodded, he only confirmed what she had deduced.

Obi-Wan lowered his lightsaber at the three blaster pistols the men were carrying, now on the ground amidst the puddle of blood. He stabbed his lightsaber through the pistols in three methodical, effortless moves and the stink of melted metal thickened the air.

"Couldn't we have used those, maybe?" Organa asked, frowning. Jaina had almost forgotten that he was with them.

"Perhaps," Obi-Wan said, already walking towards the exit and gesturing for them to follow.

"But so could whoever killed these men—and we don't know yet whose side they're on," Jaina said quietly, assuming her place a half-step behind her master and holding her lightsaber diagonally across her body.

Organa nodded, behind them both. "Fair enough."

The exit of the docking bay was half open, and an even more ominous orange illumination was the only light that was seeping through.

"Emergency light?" Jaina whispered.

Her master nodded and they stood at the closed side of the large door, listening and stretching out with their senses.

"Senator," Obi-Wan said, straightening and lowering his saber. "The corridor is clear. Are you ready?"

Jaina rested her hands on her hips, her saber pointing at the ground.

Organa nodded anxiously. "Lead the way, Master Jedi."

"Stay close behind me," he instructed.

"Understood, Master Kenobi. I will follow your lead."

Obi-Wan took the first step through the door, Jaina right behind him. She glanced at him, her own anxieties threatening to surface.

His eyebrows were furrowed deeply and his normally bright blue-green eyes were dark with swift calculation. Jaina gulped. First battle since the explosions. This was the moment she'd been dreading since this entire nightmare began.

Obi-Wan glanced at her, gently raising his eyebrows and wordlessly asking if she was all right. Jaina pursed her lips nervously and nodded back.

Obi-Wan gazed at the ground with a surprisingly expressionless face. There was a scarlet trail on the metal floor, leading them to the other end where another door blocked their progress.

Jaina wrinkled her nose and bit down on her bottom lip painfully. They were walking through _blood_. It took all of Jaina's intact self-restraint to continue walking inches behind her master, who seemed oblivious to all the red splatters and smears.

She shook her head lightly, willing herself to concentrate. Her sweaty palms were shaking as they tightly clutched her saber hilt. Jaina continued to walk forward, determined not to look at where they were stepping. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

Obi-Wan gripped the lever that would open the door. Jaina grimaced and inhaled sharply. The lever was sticky with yet more dried blood, the end of the gruesome trail that was chillingly glowing in the orange light.

Again, she admired her master for his incredibly strong will and self-restraint as he continued holding the lever. The man didn't even flinch. His eyes burnt with its typical fierce determination before a battle.

Jaina's heart rate quickened as she sensed the looming danger right behind this door. Something, _someone_ dangerous was behind the inches of metal separating them. She felt her palms pulse in the rhythm of her heartbeat as she brought both hands to her saber.

Obi-Wan was looking at her the entire time, with that cautious look he wore a minute ago, eyebrows raised. She knew he could sense her current anxieties but the clock was ticking, and this was not the time for another one of his profound conversations.

Adrenaline fiercely pumping, Jaina nodded, raising her chin. Obi-Wan exhaled deeply and shook his head, then he turned to the Senator.

"We'll be going in hot, Senator," Obi-Wan warned. "Prepare yourself. _Now!_"

Jaina's heart leapt out of her chest as her master swung the lever downwards and flung the door open. They plunged into the mayhem.

Blasterfire was erupting in every direction and smoke hindered her eyesight. Jaina dove directly behind a console in front of her and blocked the barrage aimed towards Senator Organa until he himself found cover.

Then Jaina planted her left hand on the console, her right still blocking all incoming shots, and shifted her weight to her tiptoes. She flipped herself forward until she landed atop a nearby supply crate next to her master, who had made himself a deliberate target at the center of the room and was now blocking every single shot coming his way with such skillful ease.

His lightsaber was a blue blur that was somehow going in every direction, his face tight in severe concentration with the tiniest hint of a confident smile. He was crazy, Jaina though, a smile curving her own lips. But mentally unstable or not, he was _brilliant_.

All their remaining enemies dove for cover and the nearby attack droids were starting to give ground around them. The one on the left moved slowly, its right side tilting towards the ground as its shield faltered.

Obi-Wan's grin widened slightly and he took a small step forward, shifting his weight. Jaina backflipped behind him until she was below the weakening droid then she stabbed her lightsaber right at its center and slashed it neatly into eight smoking pieces.

Now on her master's left, she helped him deflect the barrage and aimed at the last two droids and three of the remaining mercenaries.

"_Organa, behind you!_"

Jaina and Obi-Wan's heads whipped around to where the Alderaanian Senator was crouched behind a console. One droid that had quietly slipped passed them now loomed over him, followed by two men blasting their way from a nearby door. The Senator was fumbling with his blaster, struggling to replace its empty power pack.

"_Padawan!_" Obi-Wan barked sharply.

"Yes, Master!" Jaina called over the blasterfire, somersaulting towards the Senator. She landed less than a foot away from him, deflecting shots with a one-handed grip and surreptitiously using the Force to lift a nearby crate with the other.

Tunic now soaked with sweat from her intense concentration, Jaina Force-pushed the crate at the two men and dove headfirst underneath the droid. She landed on her palms and sprung herself upwards, kicking the droid with both her feet.

Its shield wavered and she flipped back to her feet, slashing it in half simultaneously, as she rose. She Force-pushed the flaming remains at the two men.

"Senator, are you hurt?" Jaina demanded, remaining protectively in front of him and his console and continuing to deflect the incoming barrage.

Only one droid and two men remained and her master continued to flawlessly deflect their shots back towards them.

"No," the Senator replied, firing at the droid. "I'm fine."

Jaina scowled, a drop of sweat stinging her eyes. The air was now so thick with smoke that other than it being almost impossible to see, it had become so difficult to breathe. There were so many hazards in this room: droid debris, toppled crates, cut and open electrical wires dangling everywhere, destroyed consoles now razor sharp.

One wrong move could mean the end, Jaina thought, her heart thumping wildly as she stretched out with her senses since attempting to see and struggling to breathe had now become so strenuous.

Had it been that long since Jaina saw the battlefield? The smell of smoke seemed so foreign. _Everything_ seemed so foreign.

Jaina pushed on forward, jumping towards the wall and using her momentum to somersault backwards and atop a nearby railing. She held her breath and focused on maintaining her balance, using a two-handed grip to send blasts ricocheting back towards their enemies. She lowered to a handstand on the railing and flipped back to her feet, slashing at the nearest droid simultaneously.

Her left leg ached severely, fiercely reminding her not to push herself and Jaina grit her teeth, ignoring the warning. She used the Force to lift the nearest metal crate and sliced it to pieces before hurling it towards a man crouched behind the console.

Only the two men remained, one partially hidden behind the door to another hallway, the other stumbling behind the console.

Her master was now positioned in front of Organa and he nodded at her, signaling her to take care of the last two. Adrenaline pumping with the rush of a battle, Jaina deflected the one shot with fatal accuracy, sending it back towards the man behind the door. With a loud grunt, the man fell to the ground, motionless.

Jaina's heart constricted, the thought of having just killed her first sentient being swiftly engulfing her. "It's over," she told the remaining man behind the console, her voice shaking. "Whoever you are. You are the last man standing, and you can't defeat us. Nor can that attack droid beside you. We both know it's done for. Surrender your weapons and I promise you, you won't be harmed. You don't have to die here…there's been enough death."

The man said nothing; he continued to furiously glare at her as he clutched his wounded shoulder with a bloody hand behind the burnt console.

"Don't be a fool," Obi-Wan said, his voice frightening. "_Stand down_."

The man's face twisted in fury one last time but he lowered his blaster slowly. "All right," he murmured. "All right, I surren—"

The droid beside him opened fire. Jaina raised her lightsaber instinctively to defend herself and with three quick deflections, the man was dead. Jaina's heart clenched again. Second death she'd caused.

Somehow she'd avoided killing anyone in the past year since the war had begun, this was not something she'd ever imagined doing. Obi-Wan jumped forward from in front of the Senator and the droid exploded in a plume of flame.

He landed quite awkwardly, well, less gracefully than usual, and deactivated his lightsaber. Jaina felt her heart racing as she stared at the men, whose lives she just ended.

They could have had children, a wife, a family. They could have been living normal lives before this, lives she'd just destroyed.

"Pull it together, Jaina," Obi-Wan said gently yet sternly, planting both hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. His face, like hers she guessed, was streaked with sweat and smoke. She hadn't even seen him walk towards her. "We're not finished here."

Jaina pursed her lips and nodded shakily. "Yes, Master."

"Master Kenobi, Jaina, are you all right?" Senator Organa asked, coughing as he walked towards them.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said, swinging around. "Are you unharmed?"

Organa nodded. "I'm fine, but my contact—"

"Do what you can for her," Obi-Wan said, and Jaina glanced around the room for any sign of that contact. "While we make sure there are no more surprises waiting for us elsewhere on this station."

Obi-Wan gestured for a nearby door and Jaina followed, her left leg now seriously painfully throbbing. She slowed her breathing, ignoring the blazing pain now rising to her knee.

"Jaina?" Obi-Wan asked quietly, looking at her with a touch of concern.

"It's nothing," Jaina said quickly. She gestured at the two incoming hallways. "Where to?"

Obi-Wan hesitated then gestured at the one on the right. "You take that one, I'll take the left. Make sure your wrist comm has been activated."

Jaina double checked her comlink. "Yes, Master."

"If you run in to any problems, let me know _immediately_."

"Yes, Master. But that's only in case you're not already there, which is highly unlikely," Jaina said wryly in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Now is not the time for heroics, Jaina," he said gravely. "I mean it."

"When have I ever been the type for heroics, Master?"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and patted her on the shoulder before affectionately ruffling her hair. Jaina wrinkled her nose, her braid already in a big enough mess, and blew her bangs off her face as she began walking down the right hallway.

The orange emergency lights hadn't brightened; in fact, everything seemed even darker now as she walked down several eerie, deserted hallways filled with the same things: supply crates, blasters, medkits and other survival items.

Minutes later, Jaina had already lowered her lightsaber as she somewhat lost grip of her extreme focus earlier and wandered through the last hallway.

"I've completed my round, Padawan, is there anything to report?" Obi-Wan's voice came from her wrist after a high-pitched beep.

"No, Master," she replied. "I'm at the last hallway before the control center. Nothing out of the or—"

Suddenly, a blinding pain struck from the back of her head causing her to fall forward, tears obscuring her vision. She remained on the ground for a few seconds, shutting her eyes and struggling to shake off the dizziness.

Jaina felt a swift warning through the Force and rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding a blaster shot. She opened her eyes and saw one more attack droid through the haze, its blaster aimed right at her.

Jaina frantically searched around for her lightsaber, kicking at one of the droids legs simultaneously. She stretched her hand as she saw her hilt feet away, having fallen from her grip when she was struck.

The ominous, black droid grabbed her weak leg with its other arm and flung her at the wall, causing a fresh surge of pain on her head and leg, and sending stars before her eyes. She lifted her hands protectively over her head as she slid to the ground, knowing that without her lightsaber, all efforts were futile.

A brilliant flash of blue energy sent the droid flying to the end of the hallway in smoking pieces and Jaina blew out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding.

"Will you ever learn to call me when you're trouble instead of giving me a heart attack each time?" Obi-Wan asked with a sigh, stretching his hand towards her. "You don't need to handle everything alone, Padawan."

"Sorry," Jaina said, taking it and grimacing as he helped her back up. The floor was just getting comfortable and she was completely fine with remaining there… "Force of habit."

"_Bad_ habit," he said, examining her quickly. "Like I've said to Anakin many times, you're going to be the death of me. Are you hurt?"

"No, just a bump in the head," Jaina said, grimacing and Force-pulling her lightsaber back to her palm. "I'm guessing that was the last of them."

"Looks like it," he said nodding. "Let's get back to Senator Organa."

* * *

"Well?" Organa asked as soon as they got back. He was kneeling next to an injured, petite, blonde-haired figure, and the distress in his voice was obvious.

"No other survivors," Obi-Wan said, dropping to one knee next to him.

"None?" The blonde woman asked, distraught. "They're all dead? My people?"

"I'm afraid so," Obi-Wan said quietly.

"I'm very sorry," Jaina said, kneeling down opposite them.

"Master Kenobi, Jaina," Senator Organa said, tightening his hold on her hand. "This is Alinta. A friend of the Republic. _My_ friend. A dear friend. Can you help her?"

Master Obi-Wan placed the back of his hand to Alinta's forehead and focused for a moment. Jaina touched her wrist to see if her pulse was strong enough for them to move her back to their ship.

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said quietly, sighing. "Whatever talent I have for healing is insufficient to tend her injuries."

Organa looked desperately at Jaina, who bit her bottom lip, her heart breaking. "My medkit is back on the ship and the Healing classes I take at the Temple are not enough for injuries _this_ extensive. I'm sorry, Senator."

"You're not even going to _try_?!" Organa demanded. "How can you not try, how can you just—"

"Organa," Alinta whispered. "It's all right." She turned to Obi-Wan. "Left bodysuit pocket…Data crystal…Nav compo coordinates for Zigoola."

Obi-Wan took the data crystal and slipped it into a pocket in his tunic. "Thank you, Alinta. What can you tell me about the planet?"

Senator Organa glared at him disbelievingly. "Master Kenobi—" he began furiously.

Jaina matched his glare with one of her own and so did Obi-Wan, and whenever he did, it was always terrifying.

"There are questions I must ask, Senator," Obi-Wan said coldly. "If Zigoola is truly a Sith planet, I need all the information I can get."

"We cannot afford to fly in blind," Jaina added.

"Wild Space," Alinta said faintly. "Zigoola…is in Wild Space."

"What else?" Obi-Wan asked, and he pressed a hand to her shoulder, close to shaking her. Even Jaina grimaced. "Alinta—_what else_? How do you know it's a Sith planet? How do you know they're planning to attack the Jedi? What sort of attack are they planning? What should I look for when I get there?" He leaned in closer. "Alinta, are the Sith _on _Zigoola?"

Jaina stiffened. A confrontation with the mysterious Darth Sidious or even _Dooku_ would definitely end in her _death_.

"No…no Sith…" Alinta said, and there was a horrible gurgling deep in her body. "A temple…artifacts…plans…Location…is on data crystal…"

"Plans? Sith plans?" Obi-Wan demanded urgently. "Do you mean their plans to attack the Jedi?"

Alinta's face was ghostly pale now, drained of all color, and Jaina felt sick.

"Yes…"

Obi-Wan held a fist to his mouth, his eyebrows as low as they went, features tight and shoulders rigid.

"And how do you know all this? Have you been there, to this Zigoola? Have you seen these things with your own eyes, Alinta?"

"Organa…" Alinta murmured, focused on the Senator and ignoring Obi-Wan. "_Bail_…I've…never lied…to you…Trust me…Please…"

"I do, Alinta," Organa said, taking her cold hand in both of his. "I trust you. It's all right."

"Space station…" she gasped. "Self destruct…" Slowly, the lines of pain on her face eased. "Protect…secrets…promise?"

"Yes," Organa said desperately. "How?"

Her eyes slid closed. "Right pocket…data…crystal…center comm console…insert and run…"

"I will," Organa said. "I'll do it. Alinta. _Alinta_?"

But Alinta was already gone.

Jaina blew out a long exhale, closing her eyes, overwhelmed with the unanswered questions lingering and the death of yet another ally.

Organa, not looking at either of them, stood up shakily and made his way to the comm console at the centre of the room.

"Senator," Obi-Wan began. "I'm not sure you should—"

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Master Kenobi," Organa said, his voice so cold that Jaina opened her mouth to reproach him when her master held up a hand. "I just made a promise to a dying woman," the Senator continued. "I intend to keep it."

"By all means," Obi-Wan said, standing up too, Jaina following suit. "But first we should see if it's possible to contact the Jedi Temple from here."

Organa grudgingly began checking all the nearby consoles while Jaina and Obi-Wan tried to contact the Temple to no avail.

"That would be no, then," Organa said. He slid the self-destruct key halfway in the centre console. "On three, then we run. One—two—_three_."

He thrust the crystal in and the console lit up, pulsing red. Organa stared at it.

"Run or die, Senator," Obi-Wan said, his eyes glinting. He put a hand on Jaina's shoulder and began to guide her to the exit. "Your choice—but choose _now_."

Without one last glance at the control center, they ran.

* * *

**A/N: Ooooooh we're nearing Zigoola! xD Yessssssss xD This'll be fun. Expect an update soon! Please drop me a review, compliments inspire me to write faster, criticism makes me a better writer :)**

**MrPowell: Thank you! Yes, she's been practicing Soresu for quite a while and like she said in one of the previous chapters, Obi-Wan can often be a pretty tough and demanding Master, so he really whips her into shape and makes her practice a lot. This actually isn't in the TV show, it's from a book called Wild Space by Karen Miller that takes place in between certain episodes in the first season :)**

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: Thank you so much!! Thank you! :D I'll update soon again, that's for sure! :D**

**charliebrown1234: Here it comes! :D I like leaving vague hints in meditations, it's just so much fun, especially when it gets readers to speculate on what's going to happen next, like you! :D I'll be updating soon again, already started on the next chapter :) Thanks for the constant reviews! :D**

**Call Starr: Uh-oh, oh boy LOL! Yes it is!**

**Ben Keto1415: Sorry! Been reading too many classics lately :O LOL! Thanks! I really worked on building up the suspense and it's going to keep building as events unfold nyahahaha :D Fine, I will :P More action in the next chapter though ;)  
**

**Dark Yellow Dino: Thank you so much!! :)**

**I'll be updating soon, please continue those reviews! :)  
**


	22. Sith Summoning

Chapter 21 - Sith Summoning

Jaina stared at the stars that streaked passed them as they made the last, final journey into hyperspace. The image of Alinta's precious space station completely blowing itself apart was still flashing before her eyes.

The explosions were brief, lasting only seconds as the light engulfed the tiny station amidst the midnight black of space. They had jumped into hyperspace only moments later, making the last, final jump to the dangerous and mysterious Zigoola after so many days of dreading it.

"I am sorry," Obi-Wan said, beside her on the pilot's seat. The Senator sat silently behind them, his emotions chaotic. "But she was hurt beyond saving."

Organa nodded expressionlessly. "I know."

"And I'm sorry I had to—"

"You didn't have to," the Senator said coldly. "You chose to. I don't wish to discuss it."

Jaina sighed, the soft sound engulfed by their awkward silence. Then her master sighed too. "Was that the first time you ever fought for your life, Senator? The first time you killed?"

Jaina stiffened. As for the latter statement, he wasn't the only one.

Organa took several moments to answer. "Yes."

"I see."

Jaina chewed on her bottom lip, forcing any guilt from her mind. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Senator. It was…it was my first time too."

That caught his attention. "What?"

"Those men back there," Jaina said quietly, gulping through the pang in her throat and fighting to remain impassive. "They were my first too."

"How is that possible?" Organa said doubtfully, crossing his arms. "I find that difficult to believe."

Jaina turned to look at him and from the way his eyes widened, she guessed it was the first time since their fateful meeting that he truly saw her as a fourteen year-old girl.

"We destroy battledroids, Senator. We fight for freedom, we guard justice, etcetera, etcetera. That usually doesn't entail murdering men, Senator, since, as you can clearly see on the HoloNet, the Separatists use _droids_."

"I wouldn't call it _murder_, Padawan, that is quite a strong word," Obi-Wan said, looking at her from the controls. "It was self-defense, you were blocking their shots. That's it."

Jaina exhaled deeply, not wanting to sulk but unable to stop herself. "So many wives lost their husbands on Coruscant during those explosions," she said quietly. "So many children lost their parents. So many lives were _ruined_. Is that what I've done to the families of those men back there? _Ruined_ their lives?"

"Padawan, you cannot possibly compare those terrorist explosions to what happened on the station," he said. "The Separatists _intentionally_, deliberately set those explosions to _kill_ people. You were utilizing self-defense. It's far from the same thing."

Jaina sighed. No point in arguing now. "Yes, Master."

"There is one thing we must discuss, Senator," Obi-Wan said, turning back. "And that is whether or not we should continue proceeding to Zigoola."

"Why wouldn't we, we've already made the jump!" Organa said. "Alinta's death changes nothing, Master Kenobi. We have the information she procured for us. And while she didn't die for it, she did die because of her work—work from which I have derived great benefit. I want to see this through. Are you saying you don't?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, and Jaina caught a glimpse of an exhaustion she shared. He looked like an ordinary man now, a man weary to the bone. The Jedi Master who had flawlessly stood his ground against intimidating attack droids was now buried underneath true fatigue.

"You disapprove of the way I spoke to Alinta," he said, hands clasped neatly on his lap. "I accept that, Senator. But disapproving or not, you must see how many unanswered questions her death leaves in its wake."

"All we have to guide us is a set of nav comp coordinates and her dying assertion that this Sith threat is genuine," Jaina added.

"I find that…problematic," Obi-Wan said. "Like my Padawan and I have said from the beginning, Zigoola could still very well be a trap. And leading you into a trap is _not_ part of my mandate."

"And so we've come full circle, have we?" Organa asked irritably. "Arguing again about whether my contact can be trusted? Whether I can be trusted not to get you or myself killed? Master Kenobi, I thought I'd at least proven myself competent on that score."

"Senator you acquitted yourself well," Obi-Wan said hesitantly. "But you could have just as easily have been killed."

"So could you. So could any of us in this time of war. Shall I make this easy for you, Master Kenobi? Shall I, in my capacity as a Senator of the Galactic Republic, _order_ you to accompany me to Zigoola?"

Jaina scowled. And this man wondered why she and her master despised politicians.

Obi-Wan's lips tightened, his eyebrows lowering. He crossed his arms. "I would not advise it."

Organa sighed. "We have to go, Master Kenobi. You know we do. Neither of us will sleep another night through if we don't uncover the truth about the Sith."

After a long silence, Jaina turned to her master. He nodded with a great amount of reluctance. "Very well, Senator. We go on."

* * *

Jaina sat on a bunk in the passenger compartment in a fresh black jumpsuit, after having used the uncomfortably small refresher. Her pants were rolled up to the knee, and she continued to apply bacta patches on her healing left leg.

This was all that reminded her of Coruscant's horrific explosions now, a dark pink line that ran vertically up her shin and a purplish area surrounding it.

Her shoulder had almost fully healed now, why was this taking longer? Jaina blew out a breath, sending her bangs up her head. If that leg continued to painfully throb in the middle of a battle the way it did earlier, there was a bigger chance she'd end up getting herself killed.

The door to the passenger compartment slid open and Jaina's eyes widened. She hastily dumped the bandage atop her shin and cringed at the sharp pain. Obi-Wan stood in the doorway and from the way he did not sigh as he usually did, she guessed he knew about her predicament all along. At least they were on their last jump to Zigoola, now there was no way he could send her back.

"Jaina," he started, and this time he did sigh.

"There's no need to say anything," she interrupted, beginning to wrap the bandage around. "_I'm fine_."

"Countless others would agree with me when I say that _that_ does not fall under the definition of _fine_," Obi-Wan said, sitting in front of her and taking hold of the bandage. "There's no need to act fine, Jaina, it's perfectly fine if you're not."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "_Fine_."

Obi-Wan chuckled, beginning to unravel the bandage. "You were able to stand your ground earlier on the space station, Jaina, that's more than anyone can expect of you hardly a week after those explosions."

"Master, you and I both know that this is far from over," Jaina said flatly as he began wrapping it around her leg the right way. "I don't know anything about what's going to happen once we land on Zigoola but I do know it's not going to be easy."

"No, it isn't going to be," he said, matter-of-factly, and he had that look in his eye that told Jaina he knew something she didn't. He tied the ends of the bandage neatly and made sure it held together firmly. "Better?"

"Thanks," Jaina nodded and smiled faintly. She tucked her hair behind her ears and opened her mouth to say something then thought better of it and closed it again. Jaina sighed. "Are we…can we handle this?"

Obi-Wan pursed his lips and looked at the ground. "My meditations have not left me with…cheerful…images. Past, future…or even present."

"Master?"

"Padawan, before we land on Zigoola, there are a few things we need to discuss."

"Such as?"

"Such as the events on Coruscant. Did you really think you would be able to avoid this conversation for much longer?"

Jaina grimaced. There it was. "No."

"I'm not as blind as you think I am, Jaina," Obi-Wan said with an amused smile.

"I never thought you were blind, Master," Jaina said quickly. "Tatooine will freeze over completely before I think you're blind. I just…I hoped you would turn a _blind _eye."

"I did for a while as you've no doubt noticed," he said. "But I cannot continue that anymore. Not with what's at stake, not with what lies ahead."

She rubbed her temples gingerly. "I don't know what's wrong with me," Jaina said quietly, dropping her hands to her lap in a rare gesture of hopelessness. "But lately, everything I do seems so…so _wrong_."

"What gave you that idea?" Obi-Wan asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

Jaina exhaled heavily. "Everything," she said, pushing her fingers against her eyes and feeling a fresh wave of exhaustion. "I got us blown up, I killed two men, I didn't sense a droid that was right _behind_ me!" Her voice cracked at the last words and she shook her head helplessly. So much for bouncing back. She was just sinking lower.

"Padawan, it's all right, everyone misses a droid or two once in a while, I certainly have my fair share," he said, looking concerned. "That hardly means you're doing everything wrong."

"No, but I really need to make things _right_."

Obi-Wan's features eased slightly, his eyebrows raising a fraction, and Jaina knew her master well enough to know what that meant. She closed her eyes and sighed. "But you already knew I was going to say that, didn't you?"

"You think you know me well, Padawan, but I'm afraid that works both ways," he said with a smile. "I have to say though, I expected you to say that slightly sooner."

Jaina bit her bottom lip, feeling her cheeks flush. "I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Jaina, you need to fully accept that all these 'wrongs' that have happened are not completely your fault. And you need to realize this _before_ we land on Zigoola."

"I never said I thought everything was my fault," Jaina said defensively.

"No, but you were thinking it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I knew you were capable of many things, Master, but I wasn't aware reading my mind was one of them."

"Padawan," Obi-Wan scolded sharply, exasperated. "Don't try and deny it, it's is not going to work. Not with me, and especially not now."

Jaina let out a long exhale and hugged her knees. "Sorry. Okay, so maybe I do think it was _partly_ my fault, it's no big deal."

"Partly?" Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow. "Come now, let's be honest."

"All right, so I think it's all completely my fault, and because I'm me, I feel the need to prove myself and I'll end up doing something incredibly stupid, is that everything you wanted to hear, Master?"

"Jaina, I let you come on this mission because I thought you were ready for it," he said gravely, his eyes stern. "You need to be aware, at all times, Padawan, that we are en route to a _Sith planet_. Being utterly foolish there could very well mean _death_."

Jaina grimaced, stung.

"And I know you're already honor-bound to obey me, not to mention it's in your personality to do so, but for the duration of this particular mission, my young Padawan, you are to do _exactly_ as I say, exactly when I say it."

Jaina pursed her lips but nodded solemnly. She inclined her head. "Yes, Master."

"I don't think you understand, Jaina," Obi-Wan said, crossing his arms and fixing her with that stern glare that was always enough to quiet her. "If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to save the Senator, fly off that rock and leave me behind, you do it. Understood?"

Jaina frowned, her heart racing. "What are you talking about?" She asked, aghast. "Have you been seeing things…? In your meditations…?"

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say something then closed it again. He exhaled heavily, his shoulders dropping. It was a rare gesture. "You know your orders, my Padawan. Follow them."

He stood up without another word and made his way to the door.

"I won't fail you again, Master," Jaina said quietly, a strong wave of disappointment in herself beginning to engulf her thoughts. "I promise."

Obi-Wan stopped for a moment, looking as though he was debating with himself, then he left the passenger compartment.

Jaina blew out a heavy, shaky breath. So all her suspicions were true. Not only had this conversation backfired on her Master and absolutely _failed_ to make her feel any better, but it confirmed her insecurities.

Her recent wrongs were huge, and that meant that the things she needed to do to regain everyone's trust had to be just as huge, if not bigger. This was the problem with war, or rather, one of its many problems. One mistake, big or small, completely changed things.

Jaina continued staring at her bandaged leg, deep in thought. She groaned and just collapsed on her soft pillow. With the way things looked now, it was best to stick with her original plan.

She was going to prove herself, regain everyone's trust, lose the look of pity people had in their eyes when they looked at her, while preventing herself from doing something incredibly stupid in the process.

Jaina sighed and buried her face in the pillow. Her friends were right, sometimes being who she was had so many disadvantages. Her perfectionist nature, passionate need to help absolutely _everybody_ she could, and intense desire to please her Master and the other members of the Order only named a few.

"Why did I have to be me…" Jaina groaned.

And she knew she had these bad qualities, yet she had no idea how to rid herself of them.

"One of these days, I'm going to end up getting myself blown up, impaled or worse… shoved off a cliff," she sighed to herself wryly, beginning to drift asleep. "I wonder which it'll be."

* * *

Jaina awoke to screaming. Loud cries echoing in the passenger compartment, sending shivers down her back as her eyes flew open.

Her first instinct was that it was the Senator, and he was in some kind of danger but as she flipped off her bunk, painfully bumping her head in the process, the horrifying realization dawned upon her that it was her _master_ screaming.

Jaina scrambled over to his bunk, her heart thumping wildly. "Master?! What's wrong?!"

He was flailing, his fists and feet thudding against the bunk's tiny space, and Jaina had to jerk backwards to avoid what was no doubt a very powerful kick. He half fell to the ground, landing face first on the metal flood.

"Master!" Jaina gasped, kneeling next to him and shaking his shoulders. "What's going on?!"

He shook himself violently until he was free from her grip and began clawing at his face, his chest, his legs.

"Get them off me!" He managed to exclaim. "_Get them off me!_"

"Get what off you?!" Jaina choked, her voice cracking. "Master, _there's nothing on you_!"

Obi-Wan ignored her, or rather, didn't hear her, and continued tearing at himself like a madman. Jaina bit her bottom lip and tightly grabbed his wrists, keeping at a safe distance since she was one of the people who probably knew what he was capable of.

"Master, please _listen to me_!" She shrieked. "There's nothing there! I swear it!"

Nothing. He continued to thrash against her grip and Jaina knew she wouldn't be able to hold on for long. "Stop it; you're going to hurt yourself!"

Shocked, Obi-Wan stared up at her. "Padawan?" He glanced around the passenger compartment as though he couldn't remember where he was. "What happened?"

Jaina shakily let go and collapsed to a sitting position next to him. "You tell me! I was asleep and the next thing I knew, you were yelling fit to wake the dead."

"It was a dream," he muttered. "A memory."

Jaina stood clumsily and snatched a bottle of water from the galley. "Master, drink," she said sternly.

"Thank you," he said after tossing the bottle's contents down his throat, his voice hoarse.

"More?"

"No."

"Should I be concerned? Afraid?" Jaina asked, dropping back to the ground. "For the mission, I mean."

"No, Jaina," he said quickly. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"So…we are headed towards a planet with a Sith Temple on it, which probably contains thousands of Sith artifacts and various deadly traps, the Sith Master's location is unknown, you're having bad dreams…and everything is apparently just a…coincidence?"

"Correct, my young Padawan."

"Master…" Jaina groaned.

"I gave you your orders hours before, Jaina."

"What was the dream about? What do you remember?"

"Noting of relevance."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I'm sure!" Obi-Wan scrambled to his feet awkwardly, with none of his usual grace, and Jaina stood up swiftly to see if he needed a hand. "It was my dream, Padawan, I think I know what it meant."

"I'm sorry, Master, I did not mean to insinuate that you didn't," Jaina said, stung.

Obi-Wan exhaled heavily. There was an angry color in his face and his eyes were glinting with temper. "It concerned an incident from my childhood."

"Your…childhood…" Jaina repeated, confused. This was not something she expected, it was something he rarely even discussed.

"Yes, Jaina, contrary to your beliefs, I did have one," he said wryly.

"So…what happened, Master?" She asked. "In your…unlikely childhood?"

"I was a teenager. On a field trip with my Master to Taanab. Part of my Padawan training with Qui-Gon. I was doing a blindfolded Force-seeking exercise. Being young and inexperienced, I underestimated its complexity. I wanted to impress my Master. As a result, I tumbled into a firebeetle pit."

Jaina gaped. "_Firebeetles?!_ I thought those things were extinct."

"They were eradicated thirty years ago from populated areas. We were in a wasteland on the Ba-Taanab Peninsula." He smiled wryly. "There's no point to a field trip if you don't encounter obstacles."

"It must have been…" Jaina hesitated. "…terrible."

"Not at all," Obi-Wan said. "It was quite hilarious."

Jaina arched an eyebrow. Even as an adolescent, he probably already had that twisted sense of humor. "Master, you're—"

"Fortunately, there was no harm done," he said briskly. "And in the end, the incident was a useful lesson about the folly of overconfidence and the desire to impress."

"Well," Jaina said wryly, "as long as that trip was not a _complete_ waste."

Obi-Wan frowned. "Overconfidence. My desire to prove myself." His expression sharpened. "I was mistaken. The memory _is _relevant. In short, it's a warning. One I would be criminally remiss not to heed."

"Meaning…?"

He didn't reply, only looked at her with those clear blue eyes that always made her feel as though he could see into her soul. Jaina chuckled. "You don't think…"

"Yes, Padawan, I do."

"How in the galaxies am I being overconfident?!" Jaina asked, this time genuinely confused.

A loud banging erupted from the other side of the passenger compartment's door, interrupting their conversation. "We're here!" Senator Organa yelled. "Zigoola!"

* * *

Jaina double-checked all the scanners and controls as they prepared to return to realspace. Organa sat next to her in the copilot seat and her Master stood tensely, stubbornly behind them.

"Reverting to sublight engines in three, two…" Jaina clutched the controls tightly and pulled the lever that took them out of hyperspace. She flicked all the switches and checked the consoles.

Abruptly, the stars returned to normal and a large, yellowish-brown planet loomed closer. It was literally engulfed in darkness, the only light came from a nearby faint sun. Rotating ominously around this ocher planet were three imposing moons.

Organa inputted the data from Alinta's crystal into the navcomputer and punched in their new destination. The machine flashed green.

"Okay, local planetary destination is coded and locked. We'll be guided directly to the Sith Temple."

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Jaina murmured.

"Nothing human or humanoid registering," the Senator said from next to her. "Low-level animal and plant signatures."

Behind them, her Master muttered something inaudible. "I'm sorry," Organa said, reluctantly turning. "I didn't quite catch—_Master Kenobi!_"

Jaina's vision disappeared abruptly and suddenly she was back on Coruscant, swerving madly to avoid the incoming explosions. It was all happening all over again.

"_Jaina! Right_!" Her master was yelling.

She shoved the controls all the way to the right until she thought they would break. Then she shoved them downwards, barely hanging on as they avoided more plummeting debris.

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

Someone was yelling. Her head was throbbing. They were still plunging downwards.

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

"JAINA!" Abruptly, Senator Organa came into view, violently shaking her shoulders. "Snap out of it!"

"_What's going on?_" Jaina asked, slowly tearing her gaze away from the controls, dizzy. "_Master!_" Her heart raced, painfully clenching in her chest.

Back in the cockpit, Obi-Wan was on his knees, his face now as white as a sheet of flimsiplast, the whites of his eyes had turned into a frightening shade of blood red. Sweat poured off him, his Jedi tunic now soak and he clung desperately to the seat.

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

"_MASTER!_" Jaina called out again, her gaze frantically shifting from the controls to her suffering teacher. "What's happening?! What are your orders?! _What do I do?!_"

"Sith!" Obi-Wan groaned, the muscles on his neck standing. "_Getusoutofherenow!!_"

"Yes, Master!" Jaina exclaimed, reaching for the helm. She cried out as an invisible hand caught her from the back of her tunic and threw her down the length of the cockpit and into the wall painfully.

"Senator, what happened?!" Jaina demanded, her eyes tearing up, her vision blurred.

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

There was no answer and she slid to the floor helplessly, struggling to regain control over her body. Bright lights danced before her eyes and she tasted bile burning in her throat as she clutched the doorway tightly, heaving herself up. "_Senator!_"

He was slumped on one of the chairs and Jaina could no longer see his face. Obi-Wan was now at the helm, both hands on the controls, and he was aiming their starship full throttle towards the merciless ground.

"_Master!_" Jaina shrieked. "_What are you doing?!_"

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

Obi-Wan turned to face her and his fist came up, clenched to white knuckles. "_Padawan, I'm sorry._"

Jaina cried out as a terrible power closed around her throat. She gasped and her hands flew to her neck, trembling. She couldn't find the strength to move an inch, couldn't find the strength to save them.

They were past the atmosphere now, crashing into daylight. Into the wilderness.

"Master…" Jaina gasped, begged.

_SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT. _It was getting louder and louder until Jaina thought her head would just explode. _SUBMIT. SUBMIT, JEDI, SUBMIT._

"Sorry…" Obi-Wan whispered, in the most anguished voice she ever heard him use. One hand was still on the helm. "_So sorry…_"

"Master…" she repeated, slightly more forcefully now, tapping on her only remaining reserves of strength. "Don't be sorry…please…_do something!_"

His face twisted and Jaina shut her eyes, not wanting to see any more of this. The voice was now yelling in her head.

_SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT! FOOLISH JEDI!_

Obi-Wan screamed, a terrifying sound of rage and pain. His hands wrenched the ship's nose abruptly up, dropped the speed, tried to undo everything. He turned away from the sight of the coming death in the viewport. They could now count the trees. Count the rocks.

Gasping, Jaina cringed as her Master's arms closed hard around her, smothered her like a frantic parent desperately trying to protect his child. Jaina shut her eyes, feeling somewhat safer. Her heart still raced as she pictured them nearing the merciless ground.

The ship's belly struck the first of the trees with a loud groan, the metal hull ripping. Jaina exhaled sharply, her heart pounding furiously. She could see nothing except each and every stitch on his tunic but she could practically imagine their ship meters away from the harsh ground.

_SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT!_

Jaina shut her eyes so tightly that it hurt and she could tell from the way her Master's arms tensed, he could hear the voices too.

The alarms continued to blaze relentlessly in the cockpit as the ship began to roll. Jaina cried out, struggling to maintain her balance as the nose dipped.

She and Obi-Wan followed, stumbling towards the front of the cockpit. Time slowed down and for the second time in mere days, Jaina found herself staring face to face with Death.

* * *

**A/N: So sorry I took forever to update!! :( SORRY! :( busy busy busy but I'm gonna try to update again soon since the next chapter's already in the works :D I'll try and have it up before Christmas as a gift to you all :)**

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**Anynymous: Thank you so much!! Here you go, and the next one will be up soon! :)**

**Ben Keto1415: Yup! And lots more coming soon! :D Thank you so much, means a lot to me! :D**

**jedichic0105: LOL yup! Thank you so much! I will be updating again soon! PEACEOUT! :)**

**gallica: Oh wow, thank you so much!! Thank you, that means a lot to me! :) Thank you!! :)**

**Charliebrown1234: Here comes Zigoola!! Thank you!! :D Next chapter will be up again in a couple of days! :)  
**

**MrPowell: It's a good read, you should if you have the time :) I'm sorry! I thought everyone would assume that when I said man, it meant human, my bad! I'll work on that next time. For the droids, they were just random attack droids, I was focusing more on Jaina's emotional and physical point of view that I didn't really focus much on the kind of droid, sorry! **

**As for Grievous, Jaina was alone against him for only actually a couple of seconds, if not, a minute or 2 at most. It seemed long in that chapter I think because of the dozens of thoughts racing through her mind, I wrote them all into the chapter and I'm guessing it looked kinda long? Obi-Wan came back after about a minute and he helped her before she could have been killed. And at this point, Grievous is also half trained, like Ventress, since it's still the first year of the war. I made sure not to make him as terrifying as he was in Revenge of the Sith because his growth, along with the growth of the main characters in this story, will be explored, and they will be meeting again some time later on. :) Dooku is another story, definitely. But we'll see lol. Thank you so much!! :)**

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: Thank you!! Next chapter will also be up soon! :)**

**Angie: WOW thank you so much for those three reviews!! I'm really really REALLY happy you enjoyed it so much!! :D And as for your dream, you just spoiled one of my major subplots for the near future to my other readers :P Kidding! xD Though it won't be exactly like your dream, something similar will happen to Jaina in the future during the infamous Battle of Jabiim :D It's going to be very, very similar! :D Thank you so much for your support!  
**

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**Happy Holidays everyone, and thank you so much for all your kind words!! I will be writing faster now! :) I owe you all another chapter as a Christmas gift! Thank you for your reviews, and please continue sending them in, I really appreciate them! :)**


	23. Trapped

Chapter 22 - Trapped

_Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die…_

A faint whisper continued to echo in the back of Jaina's mind, still shattering her will, still battering her spirit. She already _felt_ dead, they'd just crashed into a desolate forest nose first, how could they possibly have survived that?

"Jaina…Jaina, wake up…Jaina…"

Maybe that was the Force. Maybe she was finally going to be given the rest she deserved.

"Jaina, listen to me…wake up…"

Abruptly, her consciousness started returning unwillingly. Half-conscious now, Jaina realized she could not be dead. Death could not have this much pain. She felt the cold, hard ground underneath her, felt her previously injured leg throbbing excruciatingly. A hammer was pounding inside her head, the voice only making it worse, and she felt _dirty_.

The dark side was _everywhere_. It was as though someone had filled her blood with ink, ink full of rage. She had never felt so suffocated, this feeling of being smothered by an army of Sith minds was a thousand times worse than any of her physical injuries.

"Jaina…"

"Whatdoyouwantfromme?" Jaina murmured, surprised at her own soft, slurred speech.

"You have to help me…" someone called out to her from somewhere. "We need to get out of here…"

Her will was being bent again, suddenly now she didn't _want_ to 'get out of here'. Jaina fought, focusing on maintaining her concentration on her own thoughts. Slowly, everything around her disappeared and she was on a speeding train, standing in the shadow of a giant monster.

Grievous cackled as he approached her, his large frame almost twice the size of her petite one. "No Master to save your head this time…"

Jaina's heart pounded and she took a step back, only to wake up to screaming, her own screaming.

"Shhh, it's okay," Senator Organa said, his head suddenly coming into view right in front of her. "You're awake…"

"I'm…not dead."

"Not quite," Organa said with a wry smile, kneeling next to her with a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Great…" Jaina said, with equal sarcasm. Her gaze swept the nearby area. Her vision was hazy, everything cloudy. She noticed the Senator still staring at her intently. "I haven't lost my mind, Senator Organa."

"No, I know," he said hastily, standing back up. "It's just…there's a lot we don't understand about this place."

_Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die…_

Jaina shut her eyes and forced herself to get off the ground. "We have to get out of here."

"No kidding."

_Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die…_

Jaina pushed her fingers to her eyes until they hurt. "No, I mean _now_."

"What's happening?" Organa asked, anxious. "Is it what happened on the ship? Can you please explain to me _what is going on?!_"

"I…can't…" she managed, clutching her hair tightly like a madwoman and lowering back to the ground beneath her that was now slowly disappearing. She was now in the middle of a dark forest, suffocated by a sea of trees. All alone. With her Master nowhere in sight.

Jaina pushed herself off the ground and dashed forward, shoving any branches that were in her way. It was midnight, and there were eerie trees in every direction. She was being swallowed in. Didn't know which way was back, which way was forward.

"Master!"

"Jaina, you're back," said a tired, wry voice.

Jaina stared at Senator Organa for moments, struggling to digest everything. "Where is he…?" She asked quietly.

He didn't reply, only glanced somewhere behind Jaina and she whipped her head around to see what he was looking at. She gasped and stumbled towards the ruins of their ship.

Lying lifelessly against the hull was her master, sprawled on the ground, his tunic stained with dirt and blood. Jaina knelt next to him, and felt his wrist gently for a pulse.

"He's alive," she said, turning back to Organa, who was standing, observing, nearby.

"I know."

Jaina stood abruptly and dashed inside the ship's ruins. The hallway towards the passenger compartment was now completely deformed and she was forced to crawl through the remains of the door.

The passenger compartment was in worse shape, the top bunks had completely collapsed and the bottom bunks were dented, with dangerously sharp ends jutting out.

Jaina scowled and fought against her extreme exhaustion. She used her last reserves of strength, called on the Force, and sent two backpacks, medkits and survival packs flying towards her.

She caught them and slung them over her shoulder, stumbling back in the process. After hitting the painful foot of the deformed bunk bed and probably earning herself a new wound on her hip, she crawled back out the passenger compartment and out the ship.

Jaina resisted the urge to collapse on Zigoola's harsh, yellowish-brown soil. She pushed herself forward until she was sitting next to her master, breathing heavily.

"Did you even consider that you need to fix _yourself_ first before you fix him?" Senator Organa asked, somewhat stunned, as he walked towards her.

Jaina shook her head shakily, her body now severely starting to ache. Head throbbing, leg incredibly sore, stomach constricting, she let out a sharp breath and shut her eyes. She made a promise on the ship. Two, actually. One to her master, that she would follow his orders, and one to herself, that she would not fail him a second time no matter what.

"I'm…too tired…" she managed, summarizing it all in three words.

The Senator knelt next to her, in front of her master, and opened one medkit. "I took care of what I could while you were out, but I didn't have a medkit then."

"Thanks," Jaina murmured as he pulled a sanitized wet towel and began wiping her face. She grimaced as she saw the towel now stained with dry blood as he stopped. "That bad, huh?"

"Let's just say I think it's best you don't look in a mirror first," he said sheepishly, shutting the medkit. "But you'll live."

Jaina rolled her eyes and sighed, opening the other medkit. She began bandaging any cuts Obi-Wan had, careful not to move him in case anything was broken. "And what about you, Senator? Don't you need cleaning up as well?"

"You'll find I clean up well after myself," he said dryly, chuckling. "Mine weren't so bad."

Jaina exhaled heavily and closed the medkit again, leaning tiredly against the hull. "We need to get out of here…" She repeated, it seemed like the thousandth time since they'd landed.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan shouted, half-conscious. "_Anakin!_"

"Sorry, Master" Jaina said dryly, stung and now too tired to hide it. "I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

"You're…not dead," he murmured, now fully awake.

"Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are."

"So, do either of you want to say it first or will I?" Organa said, planting his hands on his hips.

"Say what?" Obi-Wan frowned. "_I told you so_? And how would that help?"

Jaina glared at both of them. "Not helping. How are our communications consoles? Can we send a message out?"

"The ships comsat array is completely destroyed," Organa said, sighing. "And the emergency transponder beacon's smashed. No hope of getting a message out, even if anyone was listening for us."

"I see," Obi-Wan said, sitting up fully with the help of Jaina and the Senator.

"Look, you're banged around," Organa said. "But I don't think anything's broken." He cringed. "At least not…physically."

Her master smiled wryly. "Is that your diplomatic way of asking if I've gone insane?"

"The thought did cross my mind."

"And mine," Jaina added. "But…you're all right now?"

Obi-Wan gave a look to the ground that practically said _I have no idea_, but he nodded at them. "Yes," he said. "I'm fine."

"Countless others would agree with me when I say that _that_ does not fall under the definition of _fine_," Jaina said, somewhat mockingly, as she repeated his earlier words to her on the ship. "There's no need to act fine, it's perfectly fine if you're not."

"Jaina," Obi-Wan groaned, rolling his eyes, but she caught the faintest hint of a smile. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Spectacular."

"Can somebody explain to me what the kriff happened?" Organa demanded.

"What do you think?" Obi-Wan said. "We sprang a trap."

"Alinta wouldn't betray me," the Senator said. "She was used, manipulated, somehow."

"Perhaps. But it's a sad fact, Senator, that most people have a price."

"You don't."

Jaina looked at her Master, who was staring at the dying flame the Senator had made, now looking dim against the sunset. "No," he said after a moment. "And neither do you."

"So who was the trap for, do you think? You, or me?"

_Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die…_

The voice was back. Getting louder and louder. Heart racing, head pounding, Jaina pushed her fingers against her eyelids.

"We each have enemies. But I suspect the Sith want all of us dead."

"You I understand…but me?"

"Don't be so modest, Senator," Jaina said, lowering her hands and ignoring the pain behind her eyes. "Like the Jedi, you are becoming a familiar public person."

"Yes, but that doesn't explain why the Sith would want to kill me."

"Put at its simplest, they are a corruption of the Jedi," Obi-Wan said. "Like us, they can…see things. Perhaps you are destined to become an obstacle to their ambitions."

"So they used Alinta to get to me. And they used me to get to you." Organa remained silent, distraught. "Obi-Wan, I am so sorry."

"I know. So am I."

"I wonder how they—" Organa shook his head. "Oh well. I don't suppose it matters now. Alinta and her people are dead."

Another silence. Then the Senator cleared his throat. "I need to know, Obi-Wan, before…when you—"

"When I lost control of myself and tried to kill us?"

"Yeah," Organa said sheepishly. "Then. You said it was the Sith but—how is that possible? We were still a long way from Zigoola's surface. And you're saying they still were able to—to reach and control you? Are they truly that powerful?

Obi-Wan let his gaze drop, and with it, his shoulders. It was a disturbing gesture. "It would seem so."

"And you weren't expecting that."

He remained silent. "No."

"That's a worry…" Organa said anxiously, picking at a rip in his trousers. "How much, exactly, do you know about these Sith?"

"Not enough, apparently."

"You think this is _funny_?"

Obi-Wan looked up. "I'm not laughing."

"So was Alinta wrong?!" Organa demanded. "Are there Sith on this planet, Master? Are they coming for us now? Should we—I don't know—_run_?"

_Die Jedi, die Jedi, die Jedi, die…_

"Run where, Senator?!" Jaina asked irritably, the drum in her head slowly becoming unbearable. "In case you haven't noticed, there's nowhere _to_ run!"

"I don't know, _away_!"

"I'd love to see you try, Senator," Jaina growled, feeling her annoyance slowly grow into rage. Someone was shouting in her head.

_Die Jedi! Die Jedi, die Jedi! Die!_

"It's the Sith," Obi-Wan said, concerned and wary at the same time. "That's why they stopped focusing on me, they're trying to get her instead. Jaina, concentrate, don't let them get to you."

"Get away from me," she snarled. Why wouldn't her Master and the Senator just leave her alone? Didn't they understand that she didn't want anyone near her? "_Don't touch me!"_

"Padawan, _focus!_ Don't let them win!"

_Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!_

"Get…away…from me…_NOW!_" Jaina yelled, struggling to wrench her arms free from her Master's steel grip.

_DIE, JEDI! DIE, JEDI! DIE!_

The voices were yelling, bending her will to succumb, shattering whatever resistance she had left until she had no choice but to give in.

"Jaina, listen to me," Obi-Wan exclaimed desperately, sternly, holding her wrists tightly and forcing her to look at him. "You can't let them win, _fight back_."

"I can't…" she choked out, all strength disappearing. Every inch of her body felt as heavy as a boulder. Winning against the Sith in this shape was absolutely _impossible_. "I'm not…strong enough…I've lost…"

"That's exactly what they want you to think, Padawan, _don't give it to them!_"

_DIE, JEDI! DIE, JEDI! DIE! DIE! DIE!_

Her head was pounding the same beat as her racing heart, she was a tiny bug fighting against an army of rancors, there was no way she would win this battle.

The voices increased in number and in volume. She was moments away from submitting, this was _hopeless!_

_DIE, JEDI! DIE, JEDI! DIE! DIE! DIE!_

"_Master, I'm going to die!_" Jaina cried, continuing to try and yank her wrists away and curling up into a ball. She shut her eyes, the images of Grievous, the Coruscant explosions, and the suffocating forest blazing all at once. Then everything disappeared in a bright flash of white. "_Help me!_"

* * *

Jaina felt her consciousness slowly, painfully returning. Everything was silent, including her own mind. The voices had stopped, at least for now.

Her eyes felt swollen, as though someone had glued them shut. She used what remained of her other senses, tried to hear anything nearby but found only silence. She carefully moved a finger forward, followed by another and another, until her entire hand was reaching forward for something, anything.

She eventually got hold of something soft, some type of cloth only inches away. Jaina slid her eyes open, seeing nothing but a gray ceiling at first. She turned her head sideways and saw Senator Organa in an uncomfortable position, but still asleep nonetheless, in the bunk across hers.

They were in the ruined passenger compartment, back inside the ship's debris. She started, seeing her Master's head buried in his arms only a few feet away, on her own bunk, the rest of his body sitting on a crate of supplies next to her bed.

"Are you feeling any better, Jaina?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice muffled; He lifted his head out of his arms.

Jaina, not trusting herself to speak, merely nodded, biting on her lip and sighing.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," he said quietly. "The Sith can be quite…convincing."

"Not to mention persistent."

"Yes, that too," he said seriously. He used the Force and levitated a bottle of water from the galley. "Here, drink."

"Thanks," Jaina murmured. She sipped from the bottle eagerly, feeling her strength somewhat return.

"That makes two of us," Obi-Wan said, his expression contemplative.

"Master?"

"Myself on the ship," he replied. "And you just hours ago. I have a theory."

"Usually your 'theories' turn out right," Jaina said, too tired to use the Force and merely tossing the empty bottle towards the waste disposal. She missed, and the bottle hit the floor with a _clang_, bouncing towards the doorway. Jaina wrinkled her nose.

"It's the Sith artifacts," Obi-Wan continued, not minding the bottle or Jaina's grimace. "A Holocron, or maybe something else. They're attacking us one by one instead of simultaneously because by forcing one of us to watch the other's agony…"

"They're breaking us at the same time…by only breaking one…" she completed, the realization making her fears escalate. "I think you're right…"

"What we need to figure out is how we are going to get through this," he said. "Any ideas?"

It was a question he'd always asked her, almost during every mission. Yet now she had none. Her shoulders sank deeper into their damaged pillows. "Nothing."

"The only thing I have left to say now, Jaina, is that my order earlier on the ship still stands, and is now more important than ever."

"Master, please don't…" Jaina murmured, shaking her head.

"You don't have a choice, my young Padawan," he said, gently this time. "We can't let them get us both."

"We can't let them get even _one_ of us," she said stubbornly, hating herself for sounding like a little girl but unable to stop herself from making that childish retort.

"We need to be realistic, Jaina," Obi-Wan said sternly but still retaining the earlier gentleness. "We need to assume the worst. I'd have thought the war has at least taught you that."

"It has," Jaina said shakily. "But it's also taught me not to leave anyone behind, no matter what."

"That's always been one of your most dangerous flaws since the beginning, my young apprentice, and now of all times, you need to—"

"I know how to get us out of here," Jaina interrupted, the epiphany hitting her suddenly. "I can't believe I didn't think of it early…the Sith Temple, it's a few klicks from here, but it's in the same hemisphere."

"How can you be sure?"

"I saw a flash of a black building when we were going down, before you smothered me," Jaina said, arching an eyebrow. "And no, I was not imaging it, because then, the Sith were attacking you, and I still had my focus. Well, parts of it anyway. We need to get there before we run out of supplies. Or…before…"

Obi-Wan sighed, laying his head back on the bed, and knowing full well what she had left unsaid. "Well then, Padawan, I believe _our_ war with the Sith has truly begun."

* * *

**A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! :) Here is my gift to you all! :) Hope it wasn't too much of a downer but hey, this IS a Sith planet, I hope nobody was expecting butterflies and meadows :) Things always get a whole lot worse before they get better, but remember, in the end, the always do :) Happy Holidays!  
**


	24. Grim Reminiscences

Chapter 23 - Grim Reminiscences

Jaina glanced at the glaring sun above them, feeling a slight hope at seeing something that seemed at least remotely normal. Everything else on Zigoola seemed twisted, seemed _wrong_.

She continued to drag one foot in front of the other in Zigoola's harsh, unbearable heat, her backpack, medkit, sleeping sack, portable shelter, survival pack and their knapsack of food cutting deeply into her aching, searing shoulders.

She was careful to hold her tongue and not utter a single complaint, because walking slightly in front of her was Master Obi-Wan, not carrying a single thing, yet suffering under the Sith's relentless mental attacks.

The land was not completely barren, but it felt that way to Jaina. The soil was an odd shade of light brown and only a few trees dotted the area, until a very unwelcoming forest that was looming meters ahead. The sun was already beginning to set, and they'd been walking nonstop for about eight hours now, because they knew that stopping would only slow down their progress, and slowing down meant more vulnerability to the Sith's attacks.

Senator Organa was lagging behind them, already exhausted after only carrying three bags, which Jaina honestly did not understand. "Try to keep up, Senator, we're burning daylight!" She said wryly, in an attempt to lighten the situation. "It's just a short hike!"

"I think our standards for 'short' differ slightly," Organa panted, quickening his pace to keep up.

"I think they're closer than you think," Jaina said. "But I've learned to ignore my standards and just go with the flow."

"Well, this 'flow' is going too fast for me."

"I don't know what you're complaining about, I'm the one carrying all that remains of our things," Jaina grumbled. "Think of it as a stroll in the Senate building, this is just five times as big."

"_Just?_"

Jaina rolled her eyes and shook her head, continuing to walk forward. She was now beside her Master and it took every ounce of restraint not to utter a word.

He was _paler_, if it was possible, and the crease in between his brows was as deep as she'd ever seen it. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and his bluish lips were tightly pursed, as though he was holding back a yell.

Although he'd already warned them earlier that talking only made his concentration waver, Jaina could not longer hold back her tongue. "Master…" she began timidly. "You're not looking too good. Maybe we should call it a night and set up camp here?"

He gestured at the forest with a nod, a slightly weak gesture that made Jaina worry. "Wait…until we reach…the forest."

"Master, maybe you should stay with the ship and let me investigate the Temple," Jaina said anxiously, not caring how utterly ridiculous it must have sounded to say such a thing to her much more experienced, much stronger Master. "Maybe this is a mistake."

"A kind thought, Padawan," he said with the only gentle smile he could manage. "But unfortunately, that is impractical. Even _if_ you reached it safely, you'd have no idea of what was in there. No way of identifying the purpose of its artifacts. If there are artifacts. No. We continue as planned, my young apprentice."

"As you wish, Master," Jaina said, at least thankful that they were now only mere meters away from the forest. Abruptly, Obi-Wan halted. Jaina almost lost her balance as she barely avoided bumping into him. "Master?"

His expression was blank like someone trying to remember a name or something else elusive. Then, without any warning whatsoever, his face twisted and he dropped to his knees. "_Jaina!_" he yelled, startling his companions.

Jaina felt her heart wrench as Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and began walking around the nearby area, still screaming her name. She knew exactly what memory this was and had a feeling that the Sith would be using it against her soon as well.

She continued staring for the next couple of seconds, as though she were in a trance, until Senator Organa violently shook her shoulders. "Jaina, you've got to stop him, he's going to hurt himself."

Jaina let out a shaky breath, now also beginning to lose herself in the memory. "I can't…"

"Jaina, you _need _to help him regain his control or we're all going to die."

She blinked, glancing back at where her Master continued his futile search. Jaina exhaled vehemently and shoved the Senator's hands off her shoulders before beginning to walk towards Obi-Wan.

"Master, please snap out of it," she called, already nearing him. "Please!"

But instead of waking up, Obi-Wan attacked. Thankfully, he replaced his lightsaber to his belt and attacked surprisingly with clenched fists and desperate strength. "_Where is she?!_" he snarled.

"I'm right here!" Jaina cried, using her petite form to her advantage and struggling to evade all of his undoubtedly painful strikes. "Please listen to me!"

One kick caught her sorely in her already injured leg and she crumbled to the harsh ground, her hands held protectively over her face.

"What have you done with my Padawan?" He demanded, his tone soft and deadly, expression utterly terrifying. He grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up a few feet with ease.

"_Master, it's me!_" Jaina exclaimed desperately. "It's me."

There was a split second of hesitation and confusion on his part and Jaina quickly bent his arm so that it would cause enough pain to startle him but not enough to actually hurt him. As soon as he lost his grip on her, Jaina backflipped and held up two surrendering hands. "Master. It's me."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and clawed at his head, fighting the relentless Sith in his head. Jaina took another step forward without hesitation and tightly gripped his shoulders. "Fight the Sith, Master, you're the one who taught me to fight, so _fight them!_"

"Jaina…" he murmured, face still twisted in pain.

"I'm here, Master, I'm here," she said breathlessly. "The Sith are losing, they're losing!"

"Get us…out of here…_now_!" Obi-Wan said, his voice strangled, and he began sinking to the ground, unconscious. Jaina slung one of his arms over her shoulder and struggled under the weight, then used the Force to levitate the rucksacks she was carrying earlier on.

"Hello," Jaina called wryly, waving at the Senator who was staring blankly at them. "A little…help…would be nice…you know…"

"Right," Organa murmured, walking towards her and slinging Obi-Wan's other arm over her shoulder. The Senator was almost two feet taller than she was, and the walk towards the forest was awkwardly positioned as they tried not to stumble, their bags floating behind them.

"There," Jaina muttered, pointing at a hill directly ahead. "That should last us the night."

"Where? What?" Organa asked, confused, as he followed her gaze. "We're going to stay on that hill?"

"No. You stay here," she instructed, lowering her Master next to a tree, resting his head on their sleep packs. "I'll be right back."

Organa's eyes widened as he saw what she had been pointing at. "How are we possibly going to fit in there? Do you plan on cutting those roots? That cave will collapse!"

"The size of the perimeter of the cave entrance will prevent that," Jaina said, already nearing a close by hole at the side of the large hill. "Simple physics, Senator. And like I said, this is just the entrance."

Jaina dropped to her knees in front of the entrance, which was impassable due to the several roots that sprang in every direction inside the tunnel. She blew out a breath and ignited her lightsaber. "Stay here first!" Jaina called again, and she began to crawl inside.

The tunnel was tiny, and she had the feeling the Senator would have an especially difficult time crawling in. She used her lightsaber to cut the roots that were jutting out in all directions; but the darkness, the eerie blue light her weapon cast, gave her the frightening feeling that all these roots were blasters, pointed straight at her.

Jaina shook her head and held in her stomach, intensifying her concentration. The Sith were planting negative emotions into her head again, this would not help their situation whatsoever. Slashing the last root neatly in half, Jaina practically collapsed onto the moist ground, finally inside the cavern.

She held her lightsaber high above her head, examining the place. The only way in or out was the tunnel she just came through, and the cavern as a whole was a good 7 feet high, probably 4 meters wide. It was more than enough, and Jaina thought this was a relatively satisfactory beginning of their journey.

She pulled a glowrod out of her belt and tossed it to the middle of the cavern before beginning to crawl back the way she came. Exiting was slightly easier than when she came in, and eventually she was back out in the open, the moonlight shining eerily over the forest.

Jaina raised an eyebrow and used a finger, gesturing for the Senator to come in then levitating the bags inside the cave. She slung her Master's arm once again over her shoulder and brought him to the entrance. "This might complicate things…" she groaned.

"Can't you just levitate him the way you did our packs?" Organa asked, kneeling at the entrance.

"He's _not_ a pack, Senator."

"Sorry, didn't mean any offense," he said, raising two hands and beginning to crawl in. "Just trying to help after all."

Jaina rolled her eyes as his figure disappeared in the tunnel. "Insufferable man." She sighed and took of her robe, placing it just outside the entrance of the passageway. She positioned her Master atop the robe and crawled in the tunnel, this time facing backwards.

"This has got to be one of my most utterly ridiculous ideas," Jaina muttered, beginning to crawl backwards, hauling her robe and her Master with her.

* * *

"I'll get some firewood," Jaina said, rising from her squatted position at the center of her newly arranged camp.

While making sure the Senator stayed at the edge of the circular cavern, she managed to set up their three tents with their sleep sacks, medkits, survival packs and backpacks inside. Hers was positioned almost directly in front of the small tunnel entrance, in case of emergencies.

A halo lamp situated at the center lit the cavern, along with two glowrods on both sides of the tunnel. Obi-Wan was now inside his own tent, wrapped in his sleep sack with a thermal blanket over him.

"It is past dusk, is that a wise idea?" Organa asked, rising from the rock he had turned into a chair.

Jaina almost smiled. "I've been through worse, Senator," she said quietly, clipping her lightsaber to her belt and crawling back outside. "I think I'll be fine."

It took Jaina less than a minute now to crawl outside from the cramped tunnel, which she wryly thought was an improvement from before. She brushed the dirt that had gathered on her knees and forearms and began walking around the murky forest.

She picked up twigs and fallen branches she found lying around and soon found herself wandering too far away from their camp. Jaina began walking back, unsettled by the complete and utter silence, other than her own breathing and her thumping heart.

She dropped the twigs next to the tunnel entrance and Force-pushed a nearby rock next to them. Jaina then lightly hopped onto a branch several feet into the air, surveying the area. The dark forest brought her a surge of unpleasant memories. The same memories her Master had relived today, only she didn't need the Sith to force them to resurface.

Jaina pulled her knees to her chest, still maintaining her balance, and buried her face atop them. How were they possibly going to get out of this predicament? Even if they made it to the Sith Temple, what would they find there? What if making it there, _towards_ whatever was giving them these relentless mental attacks would only worsen things?

Jaina stood up on the branch and leaned on the trunk, eyeing the landscape. Everything about this planet felt _wrong_. Even down to its living creatures, the trees, the plants. There was something twisted, something nauseating about them. The air smelled old and dead. Everything on this planet was contaminated with the dark side.

Glancing up at the canopy of leaves the trees had formed above her head, Jaina found the dreadful memories resurfacing once again. She was alone in a frightening forest, in a dangerous place and the trees were closing in on her. It was all happening all over again.

"You mind telling me about that particular memory Master Kenobi's been going through?" A voice asked from behind her, _below_ her.

"It's none of your business, Senator," Jaina said curtly, slipping back into a sitting position on the branch.

"I was only curious," Organa said in that same casual, _unbearable_ tone. He sat atop a rock beneath her. "I would say it definitely involved you."

Jaina dropped to the ground in front of the Senator, earning a bit of satisfaction from startling him. "Senator. The memories Master Kenobi is being forced to relive are his own business. Ergo, it's his choice whether he would like to discuss them or not," she said, faking a polite smile. "You should go pester him instead. Although I would advise you not to. "

"Sometimes I really have to wonder if all that wisecrack and backtalk is just to avoid the _real_ conversation," Organa said, raising an eyebrow.

"Interesting theory. However I have evidence to prove it wrong."

"Evidence is often misleading," the Senator said, standing up. "I'd have thought the Jedi knew that more than anyone."

Jaina glared at him. "We do."

"So, what was the memory about?"

Jaina rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in the air, turning away. "It was a long time ago. A bit more than a year actually, I think. The place was particularly similar to where we are right now. I was on my very first mission and I was alongside Master Obi-Wan, something I'd worked so hard for and only dreamed of. And I think…I might have gotten…overconfident…or something else, until now, I'm not quite sure."

"What happened?" Organa asked curiously, sitting back down.

"What happened is that I got lost, period. The end," Jaina said, turning around and walking towards the stack of firewood she collected. "Time for bed, I hope you enjoyed your bedtime story."

"Jaina," the Senator said, exasperated, walking towards her. "That is not the end."

"Well, it's the end of _my _story, it's like I said, you'll have to pester Master Kenobi for _his_," Jaina said with a laugh. "Good luck with that. Into the cave, Senator."

"You're almost as frustrating as your Master," Organa growled, crawling into the tunnel.

Jaina chuckled. "I'll take that as a compliment." She wrapped a thin wire around the twigs and branches she found and rolled it in the tunnel. Then she crawled in, backwards again, and Force-pulled the large rock into place, just in front of the entrance.

It covered more than half the tunnel entrance and would definitely hide their presence in case their scanners were wrong, and there were beings on the planet. She blew out a long breath and struggled, crawling backwards while kicking the firewood behind her.

Jaina dropped the firewood onto the center of the cavern and lit a small fire, enough to keep them warm in Zigoola's unpredictable and now chilly weather. There were small holes at all sides of the cave where the smoke would be able to exit, and she quickly went over her science lessons at the Temple to make sure they would not suffocate here overnight.

She transferred the halo lamp to the opposite side of the cavern and left the two glowrods beside the tunnel entrance. Then she pulled out one of their remaining mealpacks from the food sack and sat in front of the small fire.

"I have to wonder what you did to make yourself so eager to prove yourself," Organa mused quietly from inside his sleep sack and tent. "You're paying attention to even the smallest detail."

"It's not what I did, Senator," Jaina replied after a while, nibbling on the Mon Calamarian fish. The images of the Coruscant explosions flashed through her mind. "It's what I was not able to do."

"I've heard and observed that you're quite the perfectionist, Jaina," he said, sounding deep in thought. "But even all this transcends being a perfectionist."

She resealed the mealpack after only eating half and saved the rest for the coming days. "I'm not a perfectionist. I just…I believe that things have to be done a certain way, a _right_ way, so that success can be achieved. Especially in a war, especially in _this _war."

"Is this just about your own actions or about the Clone Wars as a whole?"

"If you're asking me whether or not I approve of all the actions of the Senate and the Supreme Chancellor, then the answer is no, I don't."

"We've been trying to end this war with diplomatic means, Jaina, surely you're aware of that," Organa said.

"And yet every time we seem to win a battle, another one erupts," Jaina murmured, slipping into her sleep sack. "I'm not saying it's the fault of the Chancellor or the Senate, it just…It seems to me that there were times where this war could have ended but it just…didn't."

"I guess we have different points of view then, Jaina, though I'd say they're both valid," the Senator said after a moment. "We each have our own battlefields, I suppose. The Senate turns more and more into one each day."

Jaina chuckled. "I'd still say it's definitely less dangerous than the battlefields we go through on almost on a daily basis."

"How do you cope with that?" The Senator asked quietly, after a moment of silence. "I mean, I know I'm not alone when I imagine wise, strong, middle-aged men when I think of the Jedi fighting in the Clone Wars."

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "I had no idea you were so discriminating against female Jedi, Senator."

"I'm not," he said quickly. "I can assure you, I'm not. You have to understand, as a fourteen year-old girl, you hardly fit into the picture of a deadly battlefield."

"Technically, I'll be fifteen really soon," she replied. "The tabloids usually focus on the more well-known Jedi Generals, not that I'm complaining, and they fit your descriptions. Take Master Kenobi for instance. I completely understand what you mean…and I honestly never thought about how I cope. Thinking about it could lessen my chances of being able to."

Senator Organa remained silent.

"Have I been boring you, Senator?" Jaina asked, smiling. "Might as well get some sleep."

"Yes…" he murmured, sounding as though he was deep in thought. "Good night."

"Mm-hmm," Jaina said, suddenly frowning. Suddenly, she felt exhausted and someone, or _something_, was beginning to break through her mental barriers.

_Submit, Jedi…_The voice whispered from the back of her mind, getting louder and louder. _Submit…_

She was rushing through the dark woodlands again, yelling into her comlink and trying to regain her composure. But after wandering around alone in a treacherous forest, well past midnight with a dangerous crime syndicate on the loose for the past four hours, Jaina found keeping her calm was more difficult than she thought.

Meters ahead, she caught a glimpse of three fast approaching figures and immediately felt a strong warning through the Force. Jaina pulled her hood over her head and turned abruptly to the right and started walking faster.

_Submit, Jedi…Yes…Submit!_

Past the fog, she could spot another approaching figure, this one probably seven feet tall. Heart now thumping wildly, Jaina turned back and began walking the way she came, only to see two more silhouettes walking towards her.

Jaina stopped and whirled around, tightly gripping her new saber hilt, only to find herself face to chest with a tall, heavily built Nikto from the planet Kintan. She slowly looked up and saw small facial horns jutting out from around the eyes, movable flaps of skin serving as the nose and a frightening, furious expression.

To his left stood a green-skinned Rodian, antennae upright and alert, his large bluish eyes fierce. And flanking the right was a slender, blue Twi'lek, wearing a vicious smirk, her lekku gracefully falling to her waist. Seconds later, a seven foot tall Gran from the planet Malastare appeared abruptly, startling her.

_Submit, Jedi! Submit!_

In the seconds that passed since she found herself practically surrounded, Jaina made sure to hold her chin high, determined not to let them sense any fear.

"Well, what have we here?" A smug voice asked from behind, once again startling Jaina. It came from a man, standing next to a lean figured woman with a deadly expression on her face.

"Looks like we got ourselves a Jedi baby," the Twi'lek said mockingly, cackling.

"This is a restricted area," Jaina said loudly, speaking for the first time and igniting her lightsaber. "State your name and business here immediately!"

_Submit! Submit! Submit! Submit!_

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jedi," the man said, chuckling as the pirates closed in on her, pulling out their weapons and other equipment. "But I'm afraid with the six of us and the one of you, _we'll_ be the ones giving the orders here."

_SUBMIT! SUBMIT! SUBMIT! NOW _DIE_!_

The Sith had caught her off guard, at her weakest, when she had not been focusing on fighting them whatsoever. Jaina found herself back inside her sleep sack on Zigoola for the slightest split-second, before she fell back into the dark abyss of her most frightening and difficult memories.

"Oh, no…" she moaned. "Here we go again…"

* * *

**Ben Keto1415: Of course, where's the fun if I didn't have my cliffhangers? :P Yup! There will be more of that voice for the next couple of chapters! =))**

**charliebrown1234: Thank you so much for the poke =)) I actually already finished the chapter some time ago but didn't get the chance to proof read because of school :| I also felt like something was missing and didn't want to post until I figured out what but good thing I did =)) Of course I wouldn't drop this story, I love it too much! :) I will NEVER drop this no matter how long I take to update so no worries! :) Thank you so much for all your support for the story and I hope your computer's okay!**

**stabbythings: Thank you so much! :D This story is going to have a couple of major plots that are all completely different, but it's all about character development for me :)) I AGREE. And there would be no fun in writing a planet like that!**

**gallica: Oh wow you're still reading! Thank you! Thank you so much! That's what I've hoped would set this story apart from others since the beginning, instead of focusing on events, I'm focusing on the people :) Thank you so much! This particular plot will test their relationship for next couple of chapters and I will be updating faster now, promise! ;)**

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: Thank you soooo much! I will be updating faster now, I promise!**

**A/N: I've figured out a way to move around any writer's block that may come around in the near future so no worries guys! I will be updating much quicker now! ;) Thank you so much for the reviews and support, please keep it coming! It inspires me to write even faaaaaaaaaaster! ;)  
**


	25. Thresholds and Torments

**I am so so so so, SOOOO SORRY for this TERRIBLY LONG WAIT :(( School, and life, and stress, and when I FINALLY finish the chapter...my computer crashes. And starting again from scratch took longer than I though. Hope you're all still there! :( Next chapter is already in the works and WILL be up by the end of this week, promise! ;) It's still May, hope you all got to celebrate the Star Wars saga anniversaries! :D**

CHAPTER 24 - Thresholds and Torments

Slowly, painfully drifting out of the darkness that had engulfed him after all the repetitions of his terrible memories, Obi-Wan slid a finger forward, just to make sure he was indeed awake. He was utterly exhausted, and had no idea how he was going to lead his Padawan and the Senator to the Sith Temple and back to Coruscant when he himself was this battered. He was losing the will to move forward, his physical exhaustions making everything more difficult.

Obi-Wan carefully slid his eyes open, afraid of what he would see. Had he collapsed in the middle of a harsh desert? An endless forest? First thing he saw was a beige canopy, and it took him a moment to realize that it was the ceiling of a tent. He was wrapped in a dark brown sleep sack with his belongings at his feet and his head poking out the tiny entrance.

Meters away was another tent with no head sticking out, leading him to assume it was his Padawan's. Jaina's tent was positioned strategically at the entrance of the cave they were in, allowing her to be the front line should they be under attack. Good, she hadn't forgotten their original goal: to protect the Senator.

The Senator.

Obi-Wan sat up swiftly, earning an excruciating head rush. He ignored it and continued stumbling out his small tent, no longer possessing his usual 'Jedi Master grace', as Jaina liked to call it.

"Don't worry, Master Jedi, I'm still in one piece," came a sardonic voice from the opposite side of the cavern.

"Good, you had me worried," Obi-Wan replied wryly, crossing his arms. "What did I miss this time?"

"Ahh, not much," Organa replied, standing up from his position at the opening of his own tent. "Your Padawan is very...efficient."

Obi-Wan exhaled heavily, his pounding head not quiet giving him his usual patience. He did not approve of the way the Senator was just casually commenting on his Padawan as though she were one of his aides.

"Yes, Senator, I'm aware of my Padawan's diligence," Obi-Wan said, somewhat sharply.

"No, no, no, please don't get the wrong message," the Senator said, raising his hands. "I'm merely stating that this," he gestured at their makeshift camp. "This was all her."

"You didn't even bother to help? I must say I'm disappointed, Senator, she _is_ a fourteen year-old girl."

"I tried," he said, slipping out of his tent. "But she said something along the lines of 'don't get in my way'. For my personal safety, I obliged."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and glanced at his wrist chrono. "It's well past sunrise. We need to move now if we want to avoid reaching nightfall," he said, crouching next to Jaina's sleep sack.

"Can't we give her a couple more hours to rest? She really worked last night, I think the least we can give her is time to recuperate."

"You can't begin to imagine how badly I wish I could give that to her, Senator," Obi-Wan said sighing, making his way to her tent. "But we need to keep moving."

The Senator pursed his lips but nodded. "As you wish, Master Kenobi."

Jaina was only wrapped in the thin sack, having donated her own thermal blanket to Obi-Wan to add another layer. Her hands were clutching the sack and her face was buried inside it. Only a tangled mess of dark brown hair was visible.

"Jaina," he murmured, hesitantly shaking her shoulder. "Jaina, time to get up, we need to keep moving."

Organa was now standing behind him, eyeing Jaina with a frown.

"Padawan, I know you're tired but we can't stop," he said quietly. "You did a great job last night, but we have to leave now."

Jaina groaned and pulled her sleep sack tighter around her small frame. Her hair was sprawled out of the sack, but the rest of her body was snugly wrapped. The tiny gesture reminded Obi-Wan of a youngling, too exhausted to get up after a long night of playtime.

"Padawan, get up," he said, shaking her shoulders with more force now and hating himself for it. "We have to push forward."

"I'm up…" Came her soft, pained voice. "I'm up…"

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said quietly, laying a hand atop her head. "We really need to keep moving."

"I know…" Jaina replied, shakily pulling herself out of the sleep sack and frightening Obi-Wan and the Senator for a split-second. "I'm up…"

Sad eyes stared up at him, replacing the usual brilliance and mischief with fatigue and a haunting emptiness. Purplish circles had cast shadows underneath them, and her face and lips were so pale that to the untrained eye, she could've been mistaken for a corpse. Her breathing was rough, her effort great, as she pulled the hair off her face.

"They're attacking?" Obi-Wan asked urgently, placing the back of his hand to her forehead.

"Have been since last night," Jaina stated flatly, grimacing as she managed to get out of the sleep sack. "They…got through for a long while…I've been trying to…prevent that from happening again…"

"Just focus, make sure you don't let them catch you off guard," he said, helping her up.

"Oh, trust me, I learned that the difficult way," Jaina replied, and the bitterness in her tone made him worry as they began repacking their campsite.

"Jaina, you need to stop pushing yourself," Organa said, aghast. "You look utterly _terrible_!"

"Yeah, well, looks can be deceiving, I feel fine," she grumbled as she slung her backpack and survival kit over her shoulders, then picked up her folded- up tent and sleep sack. She leaned on a nearby rock and swayed for a moment. "Ready?"

Obi-Wan plucked the tent from her hands and skillfully fit it inside the survival kit, then rolled the sleep sack even tighter and placed it inside the backpack. He took the backpack from her and slung it over his other shoulder, across from his own. "Ready."

"And I'll take this one," Organa asked, taking her survival kit. "We don't want any accidents on the way to the temple now, do we?"

Jaina shot him a murderous glare, took one more look around the cavern and slipped through the entrance passageway. Obi-Wan followed, experiencing much difficulty on the way out with his somewhat larger stature, and Organa came out last, panting heavily.

"I think it's about a hundred klicks further," Jaina said, lowering her binocs as they collapsed to the ground at the entrance. "It should take us about two to three more days."

"_If_ we have two to three more days here," Organa said, pushing himself off the ground.

"If we're going to die here, might as well die doing something," she said, slipping the binocs back into her belt. The tiny gesture seemed to require a great amount of effort.

"Ah, the mind of an adolescent," Obi-Wan chuckled with a sad smile. "Let's get moving then."

* * *

Under the burning daylight, Obi-Wan continued to lead his companions through the seemingly endless forest, making sure to walk only forward to prevent losing their way.

"Master, look," Jaina said, her voice surprisingly soft. She was pointing at something ahead and when Obi-Wan followed her gaze, he spotted a considerably large river, eerily calm with jet black water.

"Oh..." Organa murmured, eyes wide. "I don't think we can walk around that..."

"We can't," Jaina said, eyes scanning the area. "It's going to take _too _long...we need to find another way across. Anyone up for a swim?"

"Wait," Obi-Wan said sharply, feeling danger surge in the Force. He found a nearby branch on the ground next to his boot and leaned to pick it up. Ignoring the confused glances of both his Padawan and the Senator, he tossed the branch into the lake. For seconds, it just sat there, slowly sinking into the water.

Then abruptly, with a bubbling sound, it swiftly sank down within a millisecond.

"Whoa," Jaina murmured, staring at the space where the branch just floated moments ago. "What just happened?"

"Current," Obi-Wan said with a deep exhale. "Really strong undertow. I think that effectively removes swimming across from our options."

"Not for everyone…" Jaina murmured, her sharp gaze sweeping the river. "I probably don't weigh as much as either of you, no offense intended, and I think I'll be able to float much easier than either of you, for a much longer time."

"Not a chance," Obi-Wan said sharply. "There's no way you're going in there, even if the Sith weren't currently attacking you, you have no way of telling the depth of the river, whether or not the water is poisoned, how deep or shallow the current is—"

"Master," Jaina said, shaking her head, exhaling heavily. "I got this."

"Jaina, I still do _not_ believe this is a good idea! _Padawan!_"

"_Whoa!_ It's colder than I thought…" Jaina murmured, already waist-deep in the murky water.

Obi-Wan felt his ire rise as the Senator stifled a snort. "Padawan, get back here this instant!" He roared, taking three large strides to the shore.

"Master, with all due respect," she said calmly, pulling out a breather from her belt, "after going over all possible methods of getting across, I've arrived at the conclusion that it really _is_ impossible to cross the river without swimming. And you know I absolutely respect your brilliance and all, but, Master, I doubt even _you_ can make a leap that far."

"And what exactly is your plan once you get across, my ingenious Padawan?" Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to the Sith Temple all by yourself? If you are, Senator Organa and I can just wait by the remains of our ship."

"Wasn't planning on it, but since you mentioned it…" Jaina said wryly, grinning as she strapped on her backpack. "Just trust me. Can I borrow your cable launcher?"

"Not that I don't trust you, Padawan, but I have to say, you are scaring me quite a little," he said sardonically, tossing her his cable launcher. "What about the Sith?"

"I have them at bay for now," his Padawan replied, slipping it into her belt. "Not sure how much longer I'll be able to last after this whole…episode, but you two will be just fine without me, right?"

"Without you?" Organa laughed. "Are you kidding? You make me and Master Kenobi look like the lazy ones. You can't leave us here."

Jaina grinned. "I'm touched."

Before Organa managed to retort, there was a small splash, and Jaina disappeared beneath the water's murky surface.

"How rude," the Senator said, rolling his eyes. "Ugh. Jedi."

Obi-Wan mimicked the gesture. "Padawans."

Jaina continued moving forward at a constant speed, only wavering once to catch her breath, and within a few minutes, she'd reached the center. The rest of the river was still eerily calm, with only Jaina's small splashes causing several ripples now and then.

The sun was no longer directly above them, and when Obi-Wan checked his chrono, it was already late in the afternoon. They'd probably walked a good fifty kilometers in the past hours, but he honestly had no idea if they would reach the temple. Force or no Force, there was a limit to human endurance, and they had already likely passed it.

Obi-Wan frowned, feeling a deep sense of danger nearby. "Blast it…" he murmured, stumbling until he was knee-deep in the water. "She's losing it…Jaina!"

"I'm good," came her strangled yell. She'd stopped in the middle of the river and he could practically feel every single muscle, every bone, every strained tendon, struggling to stay afloat. "I…I can hold…hold them off!"

"Come back, this is a horrible idea!" He exclaimed. "_Padawan, get back here_!"

"It's too…far!" Jaina retorted, now slowly starting to swim forward again. "I'm almost…at the…other end, Master!"

"_Jaina!_"

"I'm fine!" Jaina replied, now straining to reach the opposite riverbank, now only a few meters away. "AGHHH GET THEM OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Use the cable launcher!" Organa yelled. "Jaina, use the cable launcher!"

Obi-Wan, his heart still painfully racing, watched, unable to help, as Jaina fumbled for her utility belt, searching for either of their cable launchers. He felt a small sense of relief as he saw her raise a shaky arm in the direction of the tree. The cable shot towards the nearest branch, but Obi-Wan's relief was short lived as he heard her panicked shriek.

The grappling hook had successfully gone around the branch and was now securely holding, but Jaina must have gone a little deeper than she intended for only her shoulders and head were visible now, and she was struggling to maintain her steel grip on the cable as the undertow began hauling her in.

**"**_Master!_" Jaina cried, thrashing violently in the water, attempting to break free.

"_Don't_ panic!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "Whatever you do, _don't_ panic, don't waste your strength, don't struggle! Just slowly kick yourself out of it, slowly. And _don't_ let go."

"Yes, because I _was_ going to let go—!" Jaina grumbled, starting to heave herself up the cable. She then pressed the button that sent it quickly retracting and her flying towards the branch. Jaina let go before she could have collided with the tree and landed face first on the river bank of the opposite side with a painful grunt.

"Are you all right?" Organa asked, his face astonished and anxious.

Jaina lifted a tired thumbs-up before pushing herself off the ground several seconds later. She leaned against the tree, eyes tightly shut, and put her hands up, asking for moments to catch her breath and regain her concentration against the Sith.

"Take your time," Obi-Wan called. "Don't rush it, if you need time to refocus, rest and concentrate."

"They're…breaking through!" Jaina exclaimed, her voice strangely strangled. "Can't…get them…out!"

Obi-Wan watched, helpless, his heart wrenching, as his Padawan slid to the ground, yelling for her mysterious assailants to get away. He closed his eyes for the tiniest second, knowing full well which memory this was.

"They've got her…" the Senator whispered, exhaling deeply and looking away, refusing to watch the scene in front of him.

"Not for long," Obi-Wan murmured. "She's fighting. She can fight them, she'll be back in no time."

"I don't know anything, _I swear_!" Jaina cried, kicking futilely at the tree. "You four sons of barves are going to get what's coming once _I'm through with you_!"

Obi-Wan turned away, pushing his fingers to his eyelids and suddenly feeling slightly sick. "I never found out what happened that day…" he murmured to himself, ignoring the Senator's questioning look. "Guess now I know."

"Get out of my head!" Came a furious yell from across the river bank.

"Are we just going to sit here?" Organa demanded. "Can't you _do_ something?"

"This is her fight, not mine," Obi-Wan replied, sighing. "And in case you haven't noticed, she's about 50 meters away."

The Senator ran a frustrated hand through his hair as Jaina's piercing yells continued to echo in the quiet forest. Several minutes passed by, and Zigoola's eerie sun began to set.

Eventually the only sound that could be heard other than the wind and the leaves was Jaina's harsh, heavy breathing, and Obi-Wan looked back across the river, now ominously reflecting the orange sun. "Jaina? Are you back?"

"Mhmm…" Jaina murmured, pushing herself off the ground and swaying unsteadily. "For now…I have them…back at bay…"

"We can do this slowly, there's no rush, Padawan," he said, raising two hands. "Take your time. What's your plan?"

"I got it, I got it," she murmured, squinting at the tree's several branches and Force-pulling the cable launcher she'd used back to her palm once she'd spotted it. "D'you mind sending all our equipment over here already so I have less work to do? This migraine is killing me."

"Sure," Obi-Wan said, already using the Force to levitate their backpacks towards the opposite back and Force pushing it near her. Jaina was now wrapping one end of the cable around a large log, and after making sure it was tightly secure, she Force-pushed the log to the center of the river.

Jaina shakily sauntered behind the tree and wrapped the other end of the cable around the trunk five times before executing a clumsy somersault towards one of the branches and lastly attaching it there.

"Almost done, Master," she called with a wry half-smile, stopping at the riverbank and staring intensely at the log.

He could feel her putting all her weight on her tiptoes and gathering the Force as she concentrated. Realization dawned upon him and he raised a quick hand. "_Jaina!_ That's a bad—"

Too late. After a long exhale, Jaina somersaulted into the air and used the Force and her momentum to propel herself higher and towards the log. She landed with a slight thump, sending water splashing in all directions. With her arms extended to keep her balance, Jaina bent her knees and leaned forward, eyes focused entirely on the large log.

Organa clapped his hands. "Bravo," he said, and Obi-Wan couldn't tell if he was serious or sarcastic. "Now what?"

"Have a little more faith, Senator," Jaina said, wryly this time. She attached one end of her second cable launcher to the log she was standing on then lifted the other end until it was aimed at a tree next to them.

With precision even in spite of the Sith's attacks, the grappling hook shot towards a branch above their heads, positioning and stretching the log until it served as a mini platform right in the middle of the river.

Obi-Wan grinned despite himself. "Nice job, Padawan."

Jaina backflipped back towards the river bank and collapsed tiredly atop their backpacks. "Thanks," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Hurry it up, you two, I'm freezing."

* * *

"She told me a bedtime story last night," the Senator said, sounding both wry and curious at the same time.

They were both sitting atop uncomfortably jagged rocks they'd placed on the ground, around a poor excuse for a fire. Also around the fire were the three DuraShelter tents they possessed, only one of them currently occupied, and nine eerily green glowrods pathetically stuck to the ground. Wrapped tightly inside a sleep sack and two thermal blankets inside one of the tents was Jaina.

"Really?" Obi-Wan said mildly, looking away from his exhausted Padawan, disappointed that the night's silence had been broken. Their campsite was more out in the open than Obi-Wan would've liked, and the sinister river only meters away didn't help them feel any safer. But as soon as he and the Senator had reached the opposite bank, Obi-Wan using the Force to boost both their jumps to the log, they'd found Jaina freezing and practically asleep, still striving in the mental fight against the Sith.

"Mhmm," Organa continued. "It was about your first mission together."

Obi-Wan looked at him. "I'm surprised. She told you about it?"

"Well, yes and no," he said, sheepishly. "She never finished the story. I was hoping you would."

Obi-Wan snorted. "I don't think my Padawan would be very happy if I did."

"I think she knew you'd say that, that's why she told me to ask you."

"Smart move," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Come now, Master Kenobi, it can't be that bad."

Obi-Wan leaned back on the tree, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "It was one of the memories the Sith used against me, Senator. What does that tell you?"

"I'd say, given Jaina's involvement, it's relatively recent," Organa said, taking a small swig from their remaining reserves of water. "Maybe that's why the Sith used it."

"That's not how it works."

"And how do you know? You're no Sith."

"_Senator._" Obi-Wan snapped, leaning away from the tree. "She was barely thirteen, she'd just become my responsibility. I doubt you understand what that's like, having a life so closely tied to your own in the midst of this terrible war. Every move I make is magnified in her eyes and there are so many more paths that lead to failure than success. One wrong step could get us _killed_."

"But think about it, maybe you ought to give her a break?" Organa mused, glancing at Jaina's sleeping form nearby. "Your last apprentice was Anakin Skywalker, those can't be easy shoes to fill."

"You think I'm not aware of the pressures placed on her shoulders?" Obi-Wan asked, absentmindedly tossing a twig into their fire, frustrated. "Senator, I'm one of the people that know her best, believe me, I know."

Organa remained silent for several moments. Then he looked back up at Obi-Wan. "So…what happened? During the mission, I mean?"

"It was nothing that intense, I was grateful when the Council did not assign us a full-scale planetary campaign for the first mission. It wouldn't have been a good idea, considering Jaina and I were only acquaintances back then, and didn't know much about each other's fighting styles or personalities."

"So, no hundreds of thousands of droids? No huge CIS fleet? No creepy Sep General?"

"Not _yet_," Obi-Wan said, grinning wryly. "Just a small, neutral planet where the Chancellor thought a Republic outpost would be strategic. The only problem was a small group of bounty hunters that was terrorizing the capital city. Without a single squad of clones, since the planet was neutral, our job was to… prevent the bounty hunters from continuing their activities."

Organa snorted. "Right."

"Anyway, my Padawan and I were making sure the perimeter was secure, just walking around the walls that kept the city protected, and getting to know each other while still maintaining our focus," he continued. "Suddenly there was an explosion at one of the guardhouses and in my rush to make sure nobody was injured…Jaina got…left behind."

"Left behind?" Organa asked, confused. "She told me she got lost. Blamed it on overconfidence."

"She did. And I don't know how she can blame it on overconfidence, I think she was anything but overconfident that day. Since the beginning of her apprenticeship, all she's focused on was sharpening her skills, being the best Jedi she can be and not disappointing me or the other Jedi, since she _knew_ that she was the next Padawan after Anakin Skywalker."

"Oh."

"That's always been one of her biggest problems," Obi-Wan murmured, drinking from his water bottle. "Before she became my Padawan and even more so after. She cares so much, _too_ much about what her teachers and superiors think about her. It's her absolute worst nightmare to face any kind of disappointment."

"I'd say there a lot of people in this galaxy that are like her, I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of," the Senator said quietly. "I don't see it as that big a flaw."

Obi-Wan smiled. "That's because you're not her teacher."

"Oh. Well I suppose so."

"It's not always a bad thing," he said quickly. "She listens to orders, something my former Padawan was a bit slower at, and she works extremely hard at everything she does and she often succeeds. But sometimes she just doesn't…believe in herself…as much as she needs to. I don't understand why she blamed it on overconfidence, I blame it on _lack _of confidence."

"I thought Jedi were supposed to be humble?"

"We are, we definitely are," Obi-Wan chuckled. "And Jaina believes in her abilities, she knows she's good, but I suppose being the next Padawan after the 'Chosen One' has not really helped relieve any burdens from her shoulders."

"And she lacks confidence in herself?" Organa asked, slightly confused.

"She doesn't see that she does, I don't expect her to," he continued. "But that flaw of caring too much about what her teachers and superiors think stems from a lack of confidence."

"Wow…You're really…" Organa murmured. "Maybe I should get a student. To broaden my perspective of life. Some sort of Senator-apprentice kind of person?"

"I don't think you'd manage, Bail," Obi-Wan said, laughing quietly.

"I don't think so either," the Senator said, shaking his head and laughing. "But wait, back to your story, Obi-Wan. Jaina got left behind?"

"I blame that on myself, Bail," he said, exhaling heavily. "I suppose deep down, some part of me had forgotten that I was not with Anakin. And though Jaina and I are very much familiar with each other now, it wasn't always like that. I knew her as a child, I'd speak to her while she was growing up, I think I even practiced sparring with her once before. But that was it. And when the people in the city started panicking, _running_, amidst this dark, cramped forest, Jaina got left behind."

"And…what happened?"

Obi-Wan smiled wryly. "You asked her once before, why don't you ask her again?"

"I really don't like how this story always comes in bits and pieces," Organa grumbled.

Obi-Wan smiled and slipped into his sleep sack, into his tent. "Think of it this way, Bail," he said, glancing at Jaina, just to make sure she was still sound asleep, "you get a nice bedtime story every night in this Force forsaken place."

The Senator wrinkled his nose. "Your stories aren't exactly the happiest stories in the world."

Obi-Wan sat back up and lifted an uncomfortable stone from underneath his sleep sack before tossing it away. He faced the side, eyes on the abyss of trees that lay beyond their small, somewhat safe campsite and felt something beginning to creep its way into his consciousness.

It had been a long night for his Padawan, and a long day to follow it. True to their original theory back in the wreckage of their ship, as soon as one of them was beginning to get clear of the Sith attacks, the other would begin to get the full blown mental assault.

"Believe me, Senator," Obi-Wan murmured, closing his eyes and focusing on drawing the line between reality and his memories, "from what I've experienced of life, the stories are in fact a lot happier than the actual events. _Always_."

* * *

_**Shoutouts! (Imma post this after every chapter, where I'll reply to each and every review! :D)**_

**Darth Comrade:  
**Oh gosh, thank you! Your review made me really, really, really happy :) The characters have been my focus since the beginning because I know they're who everyone has to be able to relate to, thank you! I'll make sure to update on a more regular basis now :)

**The Elven-Spear:  
**Yeah, I've been trying to avoid most of those, I'll work harder on that, thanks for letting me know! :D And oh wow THANK YOU!

**BenKeto1415:  
**Sorry for the long wait =)) Thanks!

**stabbythings:  
**YAY! :D Oh how I hate writers block =)) Of course not on this planet! :D

**LittleLionluvr:  
**Oh wow thank you! Gosh, that means a lot that you think she's the perfect match, that's always my biggest fear, writing her wrong as his Padawan hahaha. We'll see! :D

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:  
**Yes I am, I love cliff hangers :D terribly sorry for this long wait though! :( hahaha. I've gotten back on my feet now, and I'll updating a lot faster! :)

**charliebrown1234:  
**You know, I think those pokes will continue working for a long time actually =)) Sometimes I get so dang busy I forget about this story, then I get a poke, force myself to watch a Clone Wars episode, get inspired, and get writing! So continue poking please =))  
I watched Clone Wars episodes online since they air way later where I am, and honestly, not that much a big fan of Obi-Wan and Satine since I am forever for him and Siri, but their arguments really did amuse me haha :))  
And in response to your message, I'm so so so SOOOO SORRY I took forever to update :( Thank you for sticking to this story and I promise you I will never, NEVER EVER EVER abandon this story no matter what! Sometimes I take forever to update, but I promise I will NEVER EVER ABANDON IT! :) I already have an outline for the entire story with all the plots and subplots, but sometimes minor writers blocks and high school just get in my way. I will try my best to update soon I promise! And thank you so much for your pokes! THANK YOU!

**Angie:**  
hey Angie! Thanks for your continuous support and reviews! Sorry if I kept you waiting for this terribly long time! Congrats on graduating High School!

1. Regarding the people in Jaina's memories and Obi-Wan's story, you'll find out soon enough! :D These memories will come in bits and pieces, from both Obi-Wan's and Jaina's perspectives and towards the end of this mission, everyone will get a complete picture of Jaina's first mission with Obi-Wan, something I just thought would be interesting to squish in :)

2. My thoughts on Obi-Wan and Satine, I found the couple quite amusing actually, their banters and arguments really made me laugh. However, it's always going to be Siri-Wan for me, even in this story, because I just love the two of them! The events in Secrets of the Jedi will be in this story after a few more missions, just goes to show how much I love Siri!

3. Wow good observation and question! The truth is, Jaina and Cody also do talk and enjoy each other's company outside the battlefield as friends, however as you might have noticed, Cody is slightly more uptight than Rex, it's just in his personality, in the same way Jaina is more uptight than Ahsoka most of the time.  
It's just a trait of hers to keep a certain amount of respect and always maintain an air of leadership, also because she cares a great deal about what her own Master and the Council think about her, so that's why she isn't as outgoing about her friendships as Ahsoka. Same with Cody, since most clone leaders adapt certain traits from their Jedi Generals and Cody's been around Obi-Wan for a while, and Rex with Anakin.  
Cody's definitely more uptight. Jaina's going to have a mission soon with Waxer and Boil accompanying her and her Master; and there's going to be another clone character I'm going to introduce who started out only as a sergeant, and was immediately forced to assume command of his squad after his superiors were killed. He comes in way, way later on and becomes a valuable friend to Jaina when Obi-Wan is nowhere nearby so that's a little spoiler for ya :D

4. Me being a die-hard Star Wars fan, I already know Aurra Sing's not dead =)) At least I hope not, because then that would disrupt the continuity of the Legacy of the Force series where she reappears :)) I'd love to discuss Season 3, sure! You can e-mail me, because I think this is already incredibly long :)) Thanks for your support!


	26. Tempest

**Expect another chapter by next week, I've just gotten a huuuuge blast of inspiration and I have no idea where it came from =)) I've already started with Chapter 26, and it should be up by next week again! :D Thanks for the support, everyone! May the Force be with you!**

CHAPTER 25 - Tempest

"I didn't even know they were sending children into the war."

"She's not a child, Leona, she's a Jedi. Don't you ever forget that."

"Yes, but come on, are we really going to stoop this low?"

"This is a job like all other jobs we've done. Nothing more, nothing less."

The voices came from meters away, one of them so cold it sent Jaina's heart pounding with real fear. She kept her eyes tightly shut, not wanting see what horrors lay in front of her. Her shoulders were aching, arms bent behind her back and bound with painfully tight stun cuffs that left no feeling in her hands whatsoever.

"Another thing that troubles me," said a new male voice that she hadn't heard earlier. "She's only a child."

"Yes, Vitz, I think that's been established," the cold voice snarled.

"Meaning," Vitz continued, "the Master should be somewhere close by."

Jaina's heart stopped. Her Master. What would he possibly think if he saw her like this? Slumped on the ground in stun cuffs? This was _unacceptable_.

She blinked several times, trying to make something out of the hazy figures standing in front of her.

"No Jedi scares me."

Once her vision had returned to normal, Jaina glimpsed another room nearby with a metal table. Sitting at the head of the table was the man who she guessed was speaking. Directly across him at the other end was the Twi'lek, her expression somewhat anxious and guilty. She guessed this was Leona. The only other person at the table was the Gran, looking fierce but somewhat reluctant, and Jaina guessed this was Vitz.

"Sure!" Leona exploded sarcastically. "Our job was to divert the attention of the Jedi, Gash, it was _not_ to capture one. We're in over our heads."

"We aren't in over our heads until I say so!" Gash bellowed in return. "If you both have such large hesitations over a Jedi _kid_, why don't you get out of this now while you still can!"

"I have hesitations, but I'm still in," Vitz said fiercely, reloading his weapon. Jaina gulped.

Gash raised his eyebrows at Leona, who let out a large sigh after several moments. "Me too. Let's do this."

Jaina heard a soft clank and when she looked up, she found a gruesome Nikto glaring down at her. "_Blast_," she breathed, instinctively moving back.

"Morning, sunshine," he growled. "Hey, Leona, Vitz, Gash! Jedi baby's awake!"

"Jedi baby?" Jaina exclaimed. She kicked hard off the floor and jumped, pulling her legs to her chest and swinging her bound arms under them until they were back to her front. "You people are really quite demeaning."

"Good, she's awake," Gash said, offering her a frightening grin. "How do you do? I'm Gash, and you are?"

Jaina took in every tiny detail of the room in two seconds, confused at first at the bounty hunter's politeness. At the first sight of a possible advantage, Jaina leapt. She somersaulted towards a nearby rack where several blasters and melee weapons lay, sending a vibroknife flying towards her at the same time.

It was going to be tough, with her hands completely numb, and she knew she was going to have to aim perfectly if she wanted to avoid chopping her hands off. She raised both her hands above her head, stretching the stun cuffs as far as they would go. The vibroblade flew in between both her arms and sent the stun cuffs spiraling at the floor.

She'd figured out her next step while executing the first and was already Force-pulling a blaster to her open palm before she even landed. But before it could have reached her hands, Leona kicked at the blaster and it crashed meters away. Vitz was suddenly behind her, twisting her arms behind her back.

Jaina let out a yelp of frustration and pain, lowering herself until she was kneeling, as the strong Gran kept pushing her to the ground. "The boss asked you a question, Jedi."

"_Jaina_," she choked out subconsciously as her mind reeled from the fierce pain.

"All right, Jaina," Gash said, bending in front of her until his face was inches away from hers. "I'm going to ask you a question, and I'm going to ask it nicely first, but if you don't answer things are going to get ugly."

Jaina stared back at his cruel, black eyes, unsure of how to respond. Her arms were still locked behind her back and Jedi or not, there was no way in the Nine Hells she was going to be able to beat all four of them. And no doubt the other bounty hunters were also nearby.

_Wait,_ she told herself. _Watch and wait._

"How many Jedi are currently on the planet?" Gash asked, his expression deceptively polite. "We'd like to avoid any...surprises."

Behind him, Leona and the Nikto smirked and reloaded their weapons.

Jaina's eyes widened. "I...I don't know."

The pain came in a flash, she wasn't aware that he'd struck her face until it was over, and a burning ache seared her left cheek.

"Yes, you do," Gash said, still ever polite. "Don't let this get ugly, Jaina."

"I'm just a Padawan, what makes you think I would know?" Jaina demanded, matching their fierce gazes with her own.

"Because times are different now," Leona chimed in, leaning towards her next to Gash. "And Padawans are Commanders. And military leaders usually know a thing or two."

"Second question," Gash said, striking her again. "Who is your Master?"

"I didn't even answer the first one yet!" She yelled, breathing heavily.

"Well, looks like you now have two to answer."

* * *

Jaina gasped for breath and sat up, her head fiercely splitting in two. Abruptly, her surroundings had returned to the beige tent back on Zigoola's harsh ground, and Senator Organa's anxious face was uncomfortably close to hers.

Jaina breathed a sigh of slight relief. "Senator! You have _got_ to stop doing that!"

"You're back?" He asked, his worried expression something she never expected to see on his face.

"Not quite, they're still there lingering," she replied, sitting up slowly. A violent cough shook her body and she took a moment to steady herself. "It's not as bad and I think I can manage, the Sith are hardly there anymore..."

"Then that means..." Organa murmured, his gaze drifting to the tent opposite hers.

Jaina's heart dropped. "Right."

"This is something out of my worst nightmare, only I never imagined something like this," the Senator murmured.

Jaina coughed again, her eyes slightly tearing up. "Blast it. If the Sith don't kill me then maybe pneumonia will."

"Nobody said you had to get in the river last night," Organa said gently, handing her a bottle of water.

"What, would you have done it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, no..." He said sheepishly.

"Then we're in agreement," Jaina said crisply, taking a swig out of the water. "It's too late to change what already happened."

Organa rolled his eyes. "If there's anything I can't stand, its pragmatists."

"Too bad," Jaina retorted, standing up and beginning to repack their things, feeling utterly worn out. She wondered how much longer she'd be able to last here.

"I know that look, stop thinking it," Organa said suddenly, sharply.

"What?"

"It's the 'I wonder if anyone will notice I'm dead if we don't return' look," he said. "The 'I don't think I'll make it to the Sith Temple, I'm exhausted and tired and hungry and sick and beaten down' look."

"No, it's not!" Jaina said defensively, lowering their packs to the ground next to her Master's tent.

"Yes, it is," he continued. "I would know, I wore that look yesterday."

Jaina rolled her eyes and continued packing up the last of their mealpacks.

"Stop thinking it."

"I'm _not_ thinking it!" She exclaimed, whirling around to face him.

He let out a wry half-smile. "Now you're not."

Jaina growled in frustration then turned to her Master's tent, glancing at her chrono. "All packed. And it's almost noon. Should I wake him?"

"He woke you up much earlier yesterday," Organa said sarcastically. "You're too nice."

"No, I'm his Padawan," Jaina retorted, with equal sarcasm. She cast an anxious glance at the sky, now a dark, gloomy shade of gray. "Weather wasn't like this the other two days, was it?"

"We're on a Sith planet, I wasn't really paying attention to the weather."

The gnarled branches above their heads continued to cast ominous shadows on the skeletal leaves littered all over the uneven ground. The river was only meters away. Jaina shuddered and turned back to the sky, now genuinely worried, before slipping inside her Master's tent.

Obi-Wan looked equally as terrible as Jaina felt and, she guessed, looked the day before. In the past, she'd utterly refused to imagine him, _the _Obi-Wan Kenobi, this battered, this _fragile_. So when her eyes feasted upon the terrible sight, she did not have a single idea how to react, what to say, what to feel.

"Master," she said, softly at first. "Master, wake up. We have to go. We're almost there."

"Get them off me!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, sending her heart racing. "Get them OFF!"

Jaina closed her eyes and reached for his shoulder. "The firebeetles are gone, Master, I promise. It's just me."

Stunning Jaina for a second, Obi-Wan flung the blanket and sleep sack towards her then stumbled out the other end of his tent. "Master!" She exclaimed, slipping back out.

She found the Senator staring blankly at something ahead with an awestruck expression and when Jaina followed his gaze, she saw her Master beginning to single-handedly slaughter an entire forest.

He had his lightsaber out and was somehow, _somehow_, gracefully cutting down all the nearest trees. Obi-Wan only had that determined, frighteningly calculating expression on his face, as he continued incinerating the forest. The smell of scorched wood filled the already dead air and Jaina threw a frantic look at the Senator. "What's he doing?"

"Maybe battle droids?" Organa said, equally as stunned. "Maybe he thinks he's cutting down battle droids."

Abruptly, Obi-Wan started talking to someone they couldn't see, and Jaina knew exactly what memory this was.

"Ventress," she whispered, breathing a heavy sigh. "That was Christophsis. And now he's on Teth, distracting Ventress while Master Anakin escapes to Tatooine to return Rotta the Hutt."

"Oh..." Organa murmured. "Jaina, this is getting out of control! You need to do something!"

"What can I do, Senator?" Jaina asked quietly.

"Talk to him!"

Jaina pursed her lips tightly and whirled around, to where her Master was no chopping a large log into tiny pieces. "Master! Listen to me. _Stop_."

He backflipped behind her and struck yet another tree, frightening her for a second with his speed. _Oh, the irony if I get killed by my own Master…this'll be one for the Archives…_

"It's Jaina!" She exclaimed, stepping back and narrowly avoiding a stab. "Master, it's me, please _STOP IT!_"

Jaina closed her eyes and shrunk as he prepared to deliver another blow and was incredibly shocked and relieved when none came.

"Jaina?" Asked a small, uncertain voice. "Padawan? What am I doing?"

"Right now?" She asked, placing her palm on his lightsaber hilt, "right now, you're putting down your lightsaber, Master."

"Ventress..." he murmured, his voice still shocked.

"I know, Master," Jaina replied, equally as quiet. "I know."

With a soft hum, the weapon's blade disengaged and the elegant hilt slid from his fingers and thudded to the ground. Moments after, its owner followed, and Obi-Wan sank to Zigoola's soil, the reality of what he'd done sinking in. The Senator looked away and walked back to their camp.

Jaina slowly lowered herself too, now kneeling in front of her distraught Master. She met his tired eyes with a fierce gaze, and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"We're going to make it," She said quietly, intensely. "We're going to make it, and we're going to beat the Sith, and we're going to get the Senator out of here, Master. You know why? Because you're Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Padawan," he began tiredly, so incredibly _tired_.

"No," she interrupted. "We're going to make it."

"For all that I can use the Force here, I might as well be a _droid_," he said, with a heavy sigh.

"I know, Master," Jaina murmured. "It's hard."

"Padawan, my blood has turned _rancid_," Obi-Wan said, close to a snarl. "I was born feeling the Force; every day of my life I've lived in its light, every minute, every _breath_, for thirty five long years. Now it's gone. All is darkness. And I don't know who or what I am without it."

"You're Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," Jaina repeated, tightening her grip on his shoulder. "You killed the first Sith in millenia. You're one of the few who survived Geonosis. You're one of the best Generals out there, one of the best pilots, one of the best Jedi…You _are _the _best_ Master."

"Jaina—"

"Listen to me," she said gently. "The Force isn't gone, I promise. It's being smothered. It's this...place," she spat out the word as though it were a curse. "When we leave here, I promise you, it'll come back. You'll be yourself again, you'll see. We _are _Jedi, and _nothing _can change that."

Obi-Wan sighed and remained silent.

"You're Master Obi-Wan Kenobi," Jaina said, smiling sadly. "How many times do I have to repeat it?"

"Yes well, Master Kenobi has seen better days," Obi-Wan said grimacing. "It's strange and slightly ironic how our roles can reverse ever so quickly in this place, isn't it?"

Jaina smiled again. "I don't know, I think I make a pretty good Master, don't you?"

"Not quite, but almost there," he murmured, ruffling her hair. Obi-Wan picked up his lightsaber hilt from the ground and stared at it for several moments.

"Shall we go?" Jaina asked quietly, glancing at the sky. "I don't like the looks of those clouds."

"Jaina..." Obi-Wan began, and the look he gave her was so fragile, so exhausted that it scared her.

"Yes, Master?"

"Padawan," he said seriously, then did the most astonishing thing Jaina never imagined he would do. He held out his lightsaber to her.

"_Master!_" Jaina gasped.

"Remember what you promised me on the ship," Obi-Wan said, almost sternly. "You are to obey my every order. Take it."

Jaina continued gaping at him, well aware of the implications. This was his _lightsaber_. It was his most important, most precious, most _personal_ possession. Although technically, Jedi didn't have possessions. "But you said that a lightsaber is a Jedi's life, you said that we should—"

"I know what I said, Jaina," he interrupted curtly. "But I'm saying this now, I need you to keep it safe for me."

"Are you sure?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "One wrong swing and I could've killed you. I'm certain."

Jaina reluctantly reached for the weapon, closing her fingers around it. It was just as heavy as hers; after all she'd modeled her saber after her Master's out of respect. But it seemed so much _heavier_.

There were decades worth of significance that seemed to weigh the small, elegant hilt down. "I'll take good care of it, Master, I promise."

"I trust you, Padawan," Obi-Wan said, his gaze sweeping the dark gray sky and the ruined woodland, the result of his carnage. His gaze darkened as he rose. "Thank you. Now let's go."

* * *

_DIE, JEDI, DIE. DIE, JEDI, DIE._

At the back of her head, the pounding continued. Jaina guessed that since they were now getting closer to the Sith Temple, it would never go away, even when her Master was the one subjected to the attacks.

The line between Zigoola's woodlands and the four fierce bounty hunters was now more blurred than ever. They'd been walking for several hours non-stop, since the exhaustion and the will to keep moving forward gave her Master more strength against the Sith. She wasn't sure if it was the same for her.

"Keeping your mouth shut will only make things worse for you, Jedi!" Gash yelled, clutching the front of her tunic tightly and shoving her to the ground. "You've already wasted an hour of my precious time!"

Jaina restrained a sob as he gave her yet another excruciating kick to the ribs. "I don't know anything, I swear!" She yelled. "You four sons of barves are going to get what's coming once I'm _THROUGH_ with you!"

"Once she's through with us?" Vitz cackled.

"Oh, she's a feisty little one," Leona mocked, grinning. "Listen to me, li'l Jaina. You have two options," she hissed, holding Jaina's chin in between her thumb and index finger. "One: you can continue suffering here and _pray _to your Force that your Master comes. I doubt it. Or two: You can tell us what we need to know."

* * *

"Jaina," Obi-Wan called from several meters ahead, back on Zigoola's unbearable surface. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she replied, wrinkling her nose and beginning to walk forward again.

"Master Kenobi..." Bail trailed off, pointing ominously at the sky. The dark gray clouds they'd worried about earlier had now darkened to black, and a sickening green lingered around the edges.

"I've never seen anything like it," Jaina murmured, now behind Obi-Wan and the Senator.

"Me neither," Obi-Wan said, sighing. "Of course, our trip only gets more and more difficult."

The rain began to fall in sheets - sharp, heavy, cold sheets. All sunlight had been hidden behind the ominous clouds, turning the air to ice and a thin wind, sharp as knives, sliced through their already battered bodies. They'd reached a clearing about half an hour ago and the next line of trees was about an hour away. There was nowhere to hide.

The rain came down as hard as blaster bolts, soaking them instantly and slapping their skin. Jaina felt like she was being whipped repeatedly by several small iron balls. She looked down at her arms, her torso, expecting to find herself full of blood. All that was there was water, just water, but like everything on the planet it had been tainted by the dark side and the water felt like fire.

It was an unbearable combination, being beaten and battered by fire while being in an environment as cold as ice. Jaina clenched her jaw to stop her teeth from chattering and heard her breath come in harsh gasps over the deafening rain.

"What are you doing?" Obi-Wan roared at the Senator, who she saw had tilted his head back to taste the water. Like her, he and Obi-Wan were shivering. "Not tested—could be dangerous—"

"If it's poison, then I'm poisoned!" Organa shouted back over the rain. "And you're as wet as I am, so that means so are you!"

Obi-Wan glowered at him. "Good point."

"And at least we won't die of thirst now!"

Jaina glanced at the rising water by her soaked boots. "No, but we could drown!"

The Senator laughed, actually laughed. "Apparently my imminent cause of death has become a multiple choice question! C, we could get struck by lightning!"

"Don't say it!" Obi-Wan bellowed. "You fool, don't even—"

Jaina started as the first blue spear of lightning stabbed toward the ground.

"You _idiot_! You _had_ to say it!"

More frightening streaks of lightning pierced through the clouds and shot towards the ground, the thunder roaring behind it. The air was freezing, and they were still a far distance away from the trees. The rain turned to ice. Tiny pellets, tiny knives beginning to pierce through their flesh.

"This is not good!" Jaina exclaimed over the roaring rain.

If the hailstones got any bigger, they could easily break their bones, easily gave their skulls in. Jaina hunched her shoulders and tucked her chin to her chest, wrapping her arms around her body. She had to make herself the smallest possible target.

Her soaked tunic clung to her body, intensifying her shivers, while her heavy boots stuck to the muddy ground each time she took another step. For all the good her clothes did her, she might as well be naked. The freezing rain continued to engulf her as she glanced at her Master, lost in his own distress. Jaina closed her eyes and pushed herself to continue walking, waiting for death to come at any moment.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the raging storm stopped.

* * *

Jaina slipped out from behind the group of trees she'd been hiding behind, now in a fresh black jumpsuit. Her soaking boots, the only reminder of the strange and lethal storm that had just battered them mere hours before, thudded as she made her way across the mossy roots back to their campsite.

Her Master and the Senator were both inside their own tents, tightly wrapped with their heat-seal blankets after also having changed into their last pairs of clothes. She guessed her Master was already asleep, but as usual, the Senator was still wide awake. Obi-Wan had only gone through one more round of his painful memories after the storm, making that a total of two for the day, which was something of an improvement.

Jaina sat in between her tent and the pitiful excuse for a fire, picking up her half of a mealpack. She smelled it and eyed the Senator. "We've been eating these for how many days now? And they haven't been kept in a galley or kitchen conservator. They're probably rotten now, isn't it possible for us to suffer from food poisoning?"

"Wasn't it possible for us to get trampled as the ship crashed? Or freeze in the rain? Or you to drown in the—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get your point," Jaina grumbled, forking a piece of meat and eating it grudgingly. "All I'm saying is we've already got a good number of ways to die on this rock. We don't need to add food poisoning to that list."

"So," Organa started, wrapping himself back in his blanket and gazing at the black, starless sky above them. "Are you going to finish your story?"

"I thought we already agreed you'd ask my Master about it," she said, not bothering to look up from the mealpack.

"He never finished."

"Good for him."

"You know," the Senator said with a heavy sigh. "I'm getting tired of getting the bits and pieces of this. It's not even worth it anymore. Good night, Jaina."

Jaina tossed her empty mealpack in the fire, aggravated, and curled up inside her sleep sack, draping the thermal blanket over herself. She stared at the dark sky above and let out an irritated breath. "Where did he stop?"

"With you getting left behind."

"I ran into the bounty hunters," Jaina said, without preempt. "Shocking, isn't it?"

"How?" the Senator asked, still stunned despite her sarcastic remark. "Everyone was running away, how did you—"

"I somehow ended up in the forest just outside the city. It was a place exactly like this," she murmured. "I was there for about four hours when they...they somehow found me. Surrounded me. It was six to one, and I had just gotten out of the Temple. Not long after I started to resist, I got hit by some kind of dart then woke up in a bunker they'd turned into their headquarters. Good night, Senator."

Not bothering to wait for his response, Jaina pulled her sleep sack over her head and started to drift into what she hoped would be a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Jaina felt her last grip on consciousness begin to slip, and she scowled at Gash's now slightly frantic face, determined to show her resistance until she absolutely could not.

Time and time again, they would ask her a question about the Jedi or about the GAR and often they were questions she didn't even know the answer to. Time and time again, she would refuse and they'd deliver another painful blow.

She guessed about an hour had passed, and now began to wonder how much longer she would be able to last.

"In case it slipped your brilliant brain, bounty hunter," Jaina snarled. "I'm not deaf. And asking me the same question for the billionth time is not going to change anything."

Gash struck her again, on her already numb cheek. "My tolerance for backtalk is lowering, Jedi," he growled, holding a furious finger barely a centimeter away from her face. "And my patience is running out."

"_Good_," Jaina spat. "So is mine!"

She'd spent the past hour quietly enduring every blow they delivered, concentrating on trying to find a way out of the bunker. She arrived at the solution minutes ago, but continued to wait and attempt to regain some of her energy.

Jaina shut her eyes and focused on bringing the pipe directly above Gash's and Leona's head crashing down on them. Vitz, temporarily stunned, had loosened his grip on her searing arms and Jaina used the tiny advantage to whirl around and land a blow on his nose.

She back flipped towards the opposite wall, her hand _burning_ after the punch, and sent a perfectly aimed kick at the center of Gash's chest, sending him painfully gasping for breath on the floor next to Vitz.

Jaina felt strong hands land on her shoulder and she bent her knees, clutched the two hands and flipped Leona to the ground in front of her. The impact knocked the Twi'lek almost unconscious, and Jaina kicked her to her equally stunned companions.

Before Jaina could have felt any sense of relief or triumph, the Nikto walked back into the room, took one look at his injured companions and gave Jaina the fiercest, most terrifying glare she'd ever seen. She gulped, raising her hands to defend herself.

The Nikto grabbed her by the collar before she could have even moved and shoved her at the nearest wall, sending stars before her eyes. Feet dangling helplessly two feet above the ground, head swimming, Jaina frantically clutched at his hands. Just as she began to abandon all hope, she heard a low, _furious _voice from the next room.

"_What have you done with my Padawan?_"

Jaina could have laughed at the speed from which the Nikto's expression turned from deadly, to slightly afraid. Now utterly determined to get into a better-looking position before her Master arrived, she offered him a smile, using the distraction to plant both her feet on his chest and kick. "I warned you."

* * *

Jaina's sat up in a flash, suddenly back inside her sleep sack, snugly wrapped in a thermal blanket. Her head was throbbing and she had no idea how it was not yet split open.

_DIE, JEDI, DIE...DIE, JEDI, DIE..._

The voice was soft, now only a faint echo in the back of her mind, as Jaina slipped out of the tent to check on her Master, wondering if it was now her turn. Though Obi-Wan was asleep, his facial muscles were contorted in a frown, and his pale face was dampened with cold sweat.

So he was still resisting the Sith in his sleep.

Jaina glanced at the dark sky and eyed her chrono. It was still early in the morning, about an hour away from dawn, and when she peeped inside the Senator's tent, not surprisingly, she found him fast asleep.

Mind still reeling from the night's relentless revival of her memories, Jaina slid her backpack over her shoulders and began walking forward through the maze of trees.

There was definitely no life on this planet - that was probably the only thing Jaina was now certain of after having spent the last four days on Zigoola. Absolutely nothing, no insects, no animals, no sentient species whatsoever. Even the trees were practically dead.

She stepped over another protruding, mossy root and glanced up, now seeing small streaks of orange beginning to cross Zigoola's gray, gloomy sky. Jaina glances at her chrono again, realizing that she'd been walking from quite some time, and decided to walk a little further before returning to their camp.

Yesterday's events were completely disturbing. During the furious storm, Jaina had tried and failed to utilize an early youngling exercise taught at the Temple as early as the age of three. And though she did not want to ask, she was pretty sure her Master was struggling to use it too.

During the exercise, a Jedi would be placed underneath a fountain or waterfall in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and use the Force to manipulate the water and stay dry. It was a relatively simple exercise, one that Jaina even used to calm herself whenever she was uncertain of something.

Yet yesterday, no matter how hard both she and her Master tried, they could not protect themselves from the relentless sheets of rain.

Jaina shuddered, refusing the think further of how their Force abilities had practically failed them in this particular trip. The trees began to clear ahead and Jaina's eyes widened as she spotted a large, oblong structure made from reddish black stone. She passed the last pair of trees and for the first time several long, perilous days, Jaina felt hope.

It was twisted and strange, feeling hope at seeing something as devastating as a Sith Temple, but she knew it was their only way to get off the planet. Jaina's gaze lowered slightly, and her heart sank, all hope swiftly disappearing.

Innocently lying in between her and the Sith Temple was a deep, tortuous ravine.

* * *

_**Shout-outs! :)**_

**stabbythings:**  
I'd have no story with those randomly placed meadows =)) Thank you so much! Hehe, unfortunately I just haaaaad to put a cliffy in this one :D Mine too! I stopped using Microsoft Word for writing my stories now since all the underlines got irritating xD There's this great program I downloaded off the net called Q10 that's really for writers and I have to say it reaaaally super helps! See you soon, stabbythings!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:  
**Yup, I'm BAAAACK! And I'm really feeling on a roll here, been writing non-stop! Next chapter should be up by next week again! =)) I'm happy too! Yup, Sith planets, baaad! I know, I really hated writing all the sad parts but I felt I had no choice, since they're on such an evil planet. Nope, Bail doesn't die, but I'll just say he's going to go through his own fair share of difficulties :D Lots more coming REAL SOON! :D Thanks so much for your support!

**Ben Keto1415:**  
Oh, yeah, I'd really say it kinda sucks being a Jedi sometimes! But maybe having the Force and using lightsabers makes up for all that peril on strange planets :D I dunno =)) Thaaaank you! Don't worry! At the rate I'm going right now, could be one chapter a week! :O

**MrPowell:**  
I absolutely love Siri-Wan! Aaaand...I didn't say I was going to kill her off :D Well, actually I'm not saying anything right now, wouldn't want to spoil something I haven't started writing yet haha! :) Thank you so much for your support, means a lot to me!

**littlelionluvr:  
**Thanks for your understanding! I really hate not being able to update :)) The five month hiatus won't be happening again any time soon though! :) Thank you! Just a minor storyline I wanted to squish in there because I thought it would be interesting :D Maaaaaaybe! :)

**charliebrown1234:**  
Hiiiiiiii there! :D I'm back! Yes I did, and I updated again, and I WILL be updating again next week! ;) YAY! Happy happy weeks! You're welcome, and thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you too for never giving up on the story despite the looooong five months! :| :)) I kind of forgot what happened in Wild Space except for some major details, so I just decided to do my own thing with it :D =)) Awww shucks, THANK YOU! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your support really super, super, super SUPER means a lot to me! YES I HAVE READ IT. OHMYGOSH IT'S BRILLIANT. I can't wait for Siege! Once again, Karen Miller has captured Obi-Wan perfectly! But I was a bit sad with the new character for Obi-Wan, because, like I keep repeating, I LOVE SIRI =)) Again, thank you for sticking to the story! Another update's coming reaaaal soon!


	27. Penultimate Ordeal

**A/N: OHMYGOSH :| I'm so sorry guys, but if it's any consolation, that long wait killed me prolly as much if not more than it killed you :( Gahh school is sucking out all my free time but my inspirations are just begging to be written! Here's that next chapter, hope it was worth the wait, and with my current excitement, Chapter 27 will be up much sooner :)**

Chapter 26 – Penultimate Ordeal

"There is no way we are going to be able to jump _that_," Jaina murmured, eyeing the fifty meter or so distance between where they stood and the other end of the ravine. She glanced down and saw the steep drop at least four stories. "But we might be able to rappel down and climb back up on the other side?"

"Climb back up?" Organa asked incredulously. "In _this_ shape?"

"We may not have any other choice," she argued, planting her hands on her hips. "Unless you neglected to tell us that you're capable of flying?"

"Stop it," Obi-Wan hissed. "Both of you. This isn't helping."

"Sorry," Jaina mumbled, irritably blowing her bangs off her face. "What should we do, Master?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "So close, yet so far away..."

"You can't do this," the Senator murmured, looking at him with an anxious expression. "Go back into the woods. I'll investigate the Temple, destroy everything I find. Then I'll-"

"Bad idea," Jaina interrupted, before her Master had a chance to. "You can't do that. You might destroy a way for us to call for help. You would not recognize a Sith communications device if it bit you."

Organa grimaced. "Good point. Okay. Then I'll bring whatever I find back here."

"_No_," Obi-Wan exclaimed, grabbing the Senator's wrist, his face pale and sweaty. Jaina tensed. "There's no way of knowing if the artifacts are dangerous for you to touch. Besides, look at that ravine, Bail. You might make it down safely. You might even make it up the other side safely. _Once_. You don't dare risk it twice. Not if you don't have to."

"Yeah, it's treacherous," he agreed, easing his wrist free. "But _you _can't climb it. Look at you!"

"I'm fine."

"Master-" Jaina began, only to be silenced by a deadly look.

The Senator, unfortunately, was not honor-bound to be as obedient. He struggled to hold back his bitter laughter. "If _fine _was another word for 'on the brink of collapse', then yes, I would agree with you. But it isn't. _You are not fine_. You're losing!"

"_Senator Organa!_" Jaina roared.

"From a certain point of view, possibly," Obi-Wan said. Then he smiled that frighteningly determined and confident smile that was just as, if not scarier, than Master Anakin's. "But I prefer to think of it as...not winning _at the moment_. So we go."

The next minutes were spent in silence, with the three of them contemplating the dangers they were about to face, both here in the treacherous ravine, and less than a kilometer away resting atop a mesa, in the ominous Sith temple.

Jaina let out a nervous giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Zigzag down there?"

* * *

After another heated argument on who was to climb down first, they began the perilous journey down the ravine. Obi-Wan was leading the group, with Jaina and Senator Organa tense and alert behind him.

"I'll go first," he had said. "That way—if something happens—I won't take you with me."

Jaina furiously refused the plan at first, but she _was_ obliged to obey. So now, with three liquid cable launchers tightly hooked around the nearest branches, they slowly proceeded down the deathly mess of slippery footholds and jagged rocks.

Her tunic now soaked with cold sweat, Jaina grimaced as she'd grabbed yet another sharp handhold and added one more cut to her already bloodied and blistered hand.

Until now, after the days they'd spent here, she couldn't fathom what monstrosity could possibly be doing all this to them. She knew her technology, but she couldn't begin to understand the kind of technology that could possibly tear their minds apart, memory by memory. Especially a mind as disciplined and formidable as her Master's.

Was this how powerful the Sith were?

Jaina pushed the negative thoughts out of her head, angry at herself for letting them enter in the first place.

"Master," she panted, eyeing him as he struggled to step to the next foothold. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan grunted. His breathing was hard, his hands slightly shaking. "Fine."

"I need to stop," Bail said, though by his concerned glances at her Master, it was obvious that he didn't. "Obi-Wan."

"I said I'm fi—"

"I do, I need to stop!" The Senator insisted as her Master glared at him icily. "I'm not a Jedi, I don't have unlimited resources!"

"Bail," Obi-Wan said tiredly, wiping his face on the back of his sleeve. "Don't treat me like a fool. Don't—don't—" He shut his eyes. He was going under.

The Sith weren't stopping.

"_MASTER!_" Jaina cried, stepping in front of him, half her boots now off the precarious foothold they were sharing.

She firmly pressed both her hands on the cliff-face on either side of her Master's broad shoulders. "_Master!_ We're going to fall," she grunted, placing all her weight on her toes and pushing him back against the rocks. "Focus! _We're _going to fall."

Now completely limp, her Master toppled over, leaving all his weight on her petite and exhausted frame.

"_Don't_," Jaina barked, struggling, as the Senator took a step forward to help. "You're...going to...go down with us..._Ugh!_ For the love of the Force, _what does he eat?_"

"Jaina…" Bail said, starting to move towards them again.

"Don't—I'm going to—" Jaina exclaimed, eyes wide, "lose—my _balance_!"

The Senator reached out for them but it had been too late. Her voice reduced to a short, shrill scream, Jaina found herself free falling towards the harsh ground at deadly speed, and their cable launchers had snapped the branches after the sudden overload of weight. She grabbed for handholds blindly and managed to grip a protruding branch that had been several meters below.

Her face slammed against the rocks, and she tasted blood in her mouth, felt it dripping down her nose. But before her mind could register the disgust and alarm, she reached out for her Master, who had begun his limp free-fall several seconds after her.

Jaina's shoulders and arms were stretching, the hot pain intensifying, as she tightly gripped the branch with one hand, and her Master's lifeless wrist in the other. She let out all her agony in one swift exhale and only one thought registered in her mind.

_DON'T LET GO._

But of course, they were on a Sith planet, and all odds had been stacked against them.

She did.

* * *

Her left leg was on_ fire_. That was the first thing that registered in Jaina's mind. She wanted to scream, to beg the Senator to put it out but she couldn't seem to find her voice. As she saw past the haze that had formed in front of her eyes, Jaina saw that what was now engulfing her leg was not fire but _blood_.

Lots and lots of blood.

Jaina inhaled sharply and stopped breathing, knowing full well how the stench of blood could make her nauseous.

Others would call it ridiculous. And she didn't blame them, especially considering how much blood she'd seen, smelled and felt over the past year and maybe it _was _ridiculous. But ridiculous or not, Jaina could not stand, absolutely could not _stand _the smell or sight of her own blood.

It had taken all of her willpower not to flinch at the pool of blood she'd been in back on Coruscant, in front of Master Yoda and Master Skywalker. Then, the blinding pain had made her blood the last thing on her mind. But now—

Now the smell was overwhelming.

Jaina rolled over to side despite her body's protests and retched. Vaguely aware that she'd just wasted what remained of their rations and water, she scowled and wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve. Jaina's breath caught as she realized that this had been the same leg she had injured back on Coruscant.

"I'm sorry, Jaina, but I didn't dare touch it," came a quiet, distressed voice from behind her. "I'm a Senator, not a medic, although now I wish it were otherwise."

Jaina glanced at the distraught Senator, who was now tending to her unconscious Master. Obi-Wan's other leg also appeared to be bleeding, though not as severely. She ran a hand through her hair, practically pulling it all out from the roots when she felt a firm hand grasp her shoulder, which was also pretty bruised. She cringed.

"Sorry," Bail murmured, jerking his hand away. "Jaina, it's not your fault."

"I'm supposed to protect him," Jaina murmured inaudibly, on the verge of tears. "He's one of the galaxy's _best_, for Force sake, if he dies on _my_—"

"He is not going to die, Jaina," he said sternly, grasping her forearm when he was sure it was uninjured. "Do you understand me? He is not going to die."

"Maybe not now," Jaina growled. "But in case you've forgotten, Senator, we still have a long way to go."

Bail pursed his lips into a thin line and nodded curtly. "You're right. We should keep moving. I've fixed his wound up as best I can and I think he'll be able to walk once he's awake."

Jaina nodded, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks," she said quietly. Jaina planted her hands on the rough ground and began to push herself off it, when the Senator's hand pushed her back down.

"I think you're forgetting something," he said wryly, handing her a medkit and grimacing at her soaked leg.

"Right. Probably should take care of that," Jaina muttered, exhaling heavily. "Give me a few minutes. Keep trying to wake Master Kenobi."

The Senator stood swiftly and was next to her Master in a second. Jaina was left alone, contemplating on whether or not it was possible to vomit when her stomach no longer had anything inside. Placing her hands on her uninjured thigh, Jaina gently lifted her leg up, all healing lessons replaying in her mind. Healing somebody else was fine, but healing herself was a totally different story.

She'd just barely missed a major artery on her thigh and Jaina blew out a long breath, grateful that bleeding to death in the middle of this ravine was no longer a possibility. A deep cut ran along her shin and the blood oozing out had mixed with dirt and sweat. Jaina spent the next fifteen minutes alternating between wiping the blood off her leg with a sanitized bandage and wringing it with her fingers to prevent herself from yelling out her true anger and pain. It would not look good in front of the Senator.

When nothing remained but the deep cut and horrendous, dark purple bruise, Jaina took another clean bandage and began wrapping it around her leg. "I suppose I should consider myself lucky that it's not broken," Jaina said out loud, more to herself than to her companions. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered the way her Master had expertly tended to her leg all those days earlier on the ship. She did her best imitation then lowered her bloodied leggings over it. "I just _love_ this planet."

"Anything else broken?"

"A couple of ribs, I think," she murmured, grimacing. "But nothing I can do about that now. Just need to take shallow breaths and hope we can get off this rock sooner rather than later. Oh, and I can't see my face, but I'm guessing I look like death's door right now. Hey, is that a cut on my arm...? _Ugh_. I'll live. How's Master Kenobi doing?"

"He's good, almost fully awake now, and just a couple of cuts and bruises too, nothing absolutely serious," Bail said. "I think."

"You think," Jaina repeated irritably, pushing herself back to her unsteady feet. "Let me handle it."

She quickly examined her half-conscious Master, thankful that nothing seemed to be too serious, as the Senator had said. Jaina guessed that her last minute desperate grip of the protruding branch had saved their necks.

"Jaina," Obi-Wan said, startling her with his immediate lucidity. There was nothing in this galaxy that would make him lose his authority. "Help me to stand."

"_Stand_? Master—"

"Padawan," he said sharply. "Your orders. Remember your orders on the ship. While I'm hurting, I can think. Right now, I'm hurting rather a lot so let's not waste it, shall we?"

"Yes, Master," Jaina said weakly, lowering to a painful crouch but keeping her face as impassive as she could manage. She wiped her sweaty, dirty, bloody hands on her tunic, then offered them to her Master. "I think the armor under your tunic protected you from the worst of it, though you're still pretty torn up, Master," she murmured, as they slowly rose to their feet. "Remind me to get more protective clothes when we get back to the Temple."

"Padawan, I've been telling you to wear the armor since this war started," Obi-Wan said, somehow managing to mix exasperation with amusement. "Let's go, before it's too late."

Jaina nodded and shoved her medkit back into the rucksack, which had now gotten so much lighter with the few supplies that remained. She slung it over her shoulders and began gazing up the other side of the ravine.

"You want to climb up _now_?" The Senator demanded incredulously, breaking her out of her reverie. "Have you lost your mind?"

Obi-Wan shot Bail his sternest look. "No, Bail. I have, against all expectation and most likely temporarily, regained it. I realize we're all malnourished, sleep-deprived and quite possibly concussed, but I need you to listen to me, _very closely_. If I do not take advantage of this brief lucidity, the next time I lose awareness will likely be the last. I _must _get to that temple, I _must _find something that will help us leave this planet, I _must_—NO!" Suddenly, he struck his injured knee with a clenched fist and crumpled to the ground.

"_Master!_" Jaina exclaimed, immediately at his side and helping support his weight. "What did you—?"

"I…need…focus," Obi-Wan hissed through clenched teeth. "Senator, stop arguing. I am trying to save our lives. Now are you going to help me or not?"

"Okay, Master Kenobi," Bail said shakily. "We'll do it your way. Up we go."

* * *

"I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to last."

The voice was quiet, uncertain. Afraid.

Jaina stopped in her tracks, holding the fallen branches and twigs she'd collected. She could hardly breathe. She knew she was tired, but there was no way she was hearing what she was hearing. They'd set up their last camp a few meters from the ravine, only a second away from the mesa atop which the Sith Temple rested.

She had practically begged Obi-Wan for just an hour's rest before they began the ascent. No good would come out of blinding rushing into the temple for a solution to all their dilemmas. They needed to regain their heads. Unfortunately, Obi-Wan was still uncertain as to how long his lucidity would remain. And Jaina could no longer bear watching him further injure himself.

It was like her Master said, _so close, yet so far_.

"Bail...in case things get worse…my Padawan...you need to make sure she's—"

"No," the Senator said harshly. "Quite frankly, Master Kenobi, I refuse to have this conversation with you."

"You need to face the possibility that—"

"No, what _you_ need to do is remember your responsibilities," Bail said, his voice strangely steady. "You have a responsibility to the galaxy. There is no way in the Nine Hells we are winning this war without you. You have a responsibility to your Order, to the Council, to every Jedi student." He tossed a nearby stone off the cliff and into the ravine. "You have a responsibility to your Padawan."

"I know," Obi-Wan said softly, after moments had passed by. "You don't know what it's like, Bail. Being the last line of defense for Jaina. And I _know_ I'm losing. But I can't let them...I don't want to stand by and watch her...The Sith are close, they are going to...Bail." He exhaled heavily. "I'm the only thing standing between my teenage Padawan and the Sith. I _need_ to protect her."

Silence.

Jaina tightly clutched her tunic above her chest, feeling her heart pounding painfully. It was all sinking in too fast. Just how dangerous the Sith really were. Just how wrong she was about Master-Padawan pairs over a year ago. How much their friendship meant to her Master, how much it meant to her. This _couldn't_ be the end, she was sure of it.

"_OBI-WAN!_" Bail suddenly yelled, piercing the silence. "JAINA! Jaina, get back here! Help!"

Dropping all the firewood she'd collected, Jaina rushed back into their camp, all the exhaustion from the past week reaching the peak.

"You have to fight it!" Bail was shouting, shaking her Master's shoulders. "We are so close, Obi-Wan! You can't give up now!"

Deep down, Jaina's heart broke. "He didn't give up. He's been defeated..."

"_No_, no he hasn't," the Senator said desperately continuing to shake his shoulders.

"Don't," she said quietly. Jaina placed a tender hand atop his and abruptly, he let go of her Master.

She unhooked her Master's lightsaber from her belt and gently closed his fist around it with both her hands. "Bail, I'm sorry," Jaina whispered, "but I'm afraid I must ask too much of you."

"What?" Bail gasped, confused.

"I need you to do something from me," she said, not taking her eyes off the elegant hilt she'd just placed back in her Master's hands. "It's not easy, but...Bail, I need you to watch over him."

"Where are you going?" Bail asked suspiciously.

"I think you know the answer to that," Jaina said, rising fluidly and placing the thermal blanket over her Master. "I know none of this makes sense but—"

"No, Jaina, it doesn't!" Bail said, stumbling upwards and tightly gripping her shoulder. Jaina flinched, but he left his hand there. "You're fourteen, there is no way I'm letting you in there alone!"

"_Senator_," Jaina said icily. Dangerously. He recoiled. "Senator, I've been training for this," she continued in a softer voice. "If I let you inside, there's no way you'll find anything useful."

"And are you so certain _you_ will? Maybe you have been training for this, but I know for a fact that training is a completely different thing from _experiencing_!"

"You misunderstand me," Jaina said quietly, her eyes lowering back to where her Master lay, unmoving. "When I say train, you think I mean for battling the Sith. That's not what I..."

The Senator remained silent, his eyes now fixed on her.

"As Jedi apprentices, we don't train to battle the Sith," Jaina said, choosing her words carefully. "That is merely...for your sake, we'll call it an occupational hazard."

Bail snorted.

"Remember. There are only two Sith, not all Jedi face them and even if we _do _train to fight them, should the time come, that isn't usually our goal in mind while studying. Bail, when I say I've been training...I..." she trailed off, sighing heavily and running a hand through her hair as she turned to the setting sun. "Bail, I have a responsibility to my Master," Jaina said softly. "In the same way he feels responsible for me, and I have no idea how that works because I've never been a Master, but I_ do _know what it's like as a Padawan. Other than to the galaxy, the Order, and the Republic, our duty is to our Masters. I've been preparing myself for a situation like this, and _I'm ready_."

"Jaina," Bail said, planting both hands on her shoulders. "Having a responsibility to Obi-Wan doesn't mean that you have to go into a kriffing Sith Temple alone because there might be a solution to our problems."

"There _is_ a solution," Jaina said sharply. "He's my best friend, Bail," she continued, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "He's my mentor, he's the closest thing I'm ever going to get to a father. I have a responsibility to the Jedi Order. But I also have a responsibility to him. And I need you to help me bear this incredibly complex responsibility."

"No, Jaina," Bail said, sighing deeply, his eyes full of an unfathomable pain. "Don't make me do this..."

"_Please_."

* * *

The wind whipped what remained of her cloak violently. The sky was a tragically beautiful fusion of dark orange and crimson, with blue creeping overhead. The sun had set. Another day had passed. Stories below, a small camp was almost barely visible with the slithering darkness. Inside that camp rested her companions, people who were now no more real to her than the dead. Now she was _alone_.

Jaina turned around and glanced at the menacing black building now right in front of her, feeling nothing but serenity. Then she took a few steps forward and allowed the darkness to engulf her.

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN! :D**

_**Shout-outs as usual!**_

**Eliza Lighton**: Hi! Thanks for the review, it's always great to answer another reader! :) Here's that update, and expect another one soon! Don't get on your knees! =)) Thank you so so soooo much!

**Angie: **I will again, I promise! I'll be updating on a more regular basis now! ;) The inspiration is there but school is sucking all my time :( I'll still work to update regularly, promise! Peace out!

**ClassicalBrunette: **Hey there! No need to apologize! Though I did miss replying to your reviews! Thanks for sticking to the story!  
It's really insane, I feel EXACTLY the same way! O_O Jaina's completely grown up with me. Now we're finally practically the same age so it's even more strange and sentimental watching her grow up :)) (I must sound so weird, it's not like she's an actual person =)))  
Wow THANK YOU! That is definitely one of the best complements I can receive as an author and it means so much to me :) Working hard to make it seem "canon" had always been my goal, and hearing things like that always make me feel like I'm not wasting all my energy writing Jaina's story :)) Thank you! I hope school and life are going well for you too!

**Stabbythings:** Yup, Q10 is awesome! I LOVE CLIFFYS :D Here's another one for ya :P =)) I'll be updating again soon! Thanks! ;)

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: **I know! It kills me to write all this sometimes :| :)) I think it's safe for me to say a loooot more things will be going wrong before they go right again. It was terrifying writing the flashbacks! Hated doing that to her but her first mission going terribly wrong was something I thought of since the beginning, just had to squish it in :)) Won't be the last we'll be seeing of it just yet ;)  
Obi-Wan's "episode" for me was definitely frightening, it's terrible seeing someone as powerful as him breaking down like that D:  
Next major subplot after this will be much shorter, something I made up. Something a little lighter than all this depression but still definitely serious. Then I'll head on to Jude Watson's Secrets of the Jedi :)) I'm trying to cast a wide net over the cartoons, books, the movies, comics, etc so I can prevent the story from getting too boring. I hope it works =)) Thanks for EVERYTHIIIING! :) I'll be updating again REAL SOON ;)

**Littlelionluvr: **Of course! ;) They definitely will, but not without a "few" scratches =)) Other than Obi-Wan being much more experienced and his life more full of struggles than Jaina's, I wanted the visions to start targeting him specifically for the rest of their trip to weaken Jaina's character for a bit. But actually strengthen her in the long run. It's definitely difficult for her to just stand and watch all these things :)) Thank you! Unfortunately, the flashbacks will be ending soon :( Thanks! I'll be updating again, started the next chapter already because I'm so excited!

**Angie:** I'm not so sure if it's a Sith, but we'll see! ;) I think Siri-Wan is fantastic! She'll turn into a recurring character in the story in a couple of chapters. I WILL! THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT! PEACE OUT!

**MrPowell:** I agree! It was extremely hard for me not to make the flashbacks as dark and depressing as the present time for them. Sorry for the confusion! Jaina won't be having flashbacks for a while so I probably get to avoid that for the next couple of chapters :)) Again, sorry for the confusion!  
The whole DIE, JEDI, DIE being repetitive was soooo irritating for me! LOL =)) I wanted to stress that since they've arrived on the planet, that little persistent, fearsome, hundred year-old voice has been working to shatter their will. It was definitely a challenge for me to balance getting the readers into the character's shoes (and "hear" that voice for the five days they've spent so far on the planet) with avoiding being too repetitive. Thankfully the voice will stop real soon :))  
I'm an unfair writer in the sense that this story is also to make things that didn't happen the way I wanted them to…happen the way I want them to =)) Then again I guess that's the beauty of fanfiction. And one of those things will most probably be the ending of Secrets of the Jedi. I'm definitely not going to stray too far off because I greatly respect the books, canon and especially Jude Watson, but Siri is definitely not guaranteed to die :) The events in that book will still probably make Obi-Wan less accessible to Jaina but who knows :) I'm still a huge fan of Siri-Wan :))  
Thank you! I will be updating soon!

**Ben_Keto1415:** Thank you, I am awesome, aren't I? ;;) Kidding =)) I'll make sure to keep my word on those one week updates then! Blame school, they hardly give me enough time to write! Well, ONE of them is in the Temple now :D Hope that's okay =)) Hope to talk to you soon too, it's been FOREVER! :P

**Charliebrown1234:** Next chapter is in the works right now! Sorry, only both of them fell, I didn't want to batter the poor Republic Senator further =)) Chapter 27 is on the way already! And it's going to be completely set inside the Sith Temple. I don't remember much of Wild Space anymore, so I'll just be making stuff up as I go along! :D I can't wait for Stealth's sequel! Karen Miller is my herooooo. I'll be updating soon! Thank you for everything! You're support means SOOO MUCH!


	28. Rage, Venom and Decay

**I'm back! ;) READ THIS BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER. Okay this chapter will be the most different (if not COMPLETELY DIFFERENT) from Karen Miller's Wild Space. I wandered off from the original book for two reasons.**

**1. I cannot remember what happened in this part of the book. I only remember the major events, and write into this fanfic what really struck me, what I remember. I remember Obi-Wan going into the temple, and really that's it.**

**2. I think in Wild Space, the real climax is what happens _after _this. But as the book is rather lengthy and has the reader anticipating the Sith Temple (kind of what I've been doing in the past chapters) for a really long time, I found the parts where they actually entered it rather anticlimactic. **

**3. (Yeah I know, I only said two but hehe) This is my fanfiction story, and I think it would be rather boring if I simply rewrote what real authors have already done :) **

**Sorry if it's rather long, but I figured this is THE moment I've been building up to for the past months. Might as well make it the best I can :) I just love how dark the title of the chapter is. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 27 – Rage, Venom and Decay

This was something out of her worst nightmares. Nothing could compare to the sudden fear Jaina felt escalating in her racing heart. As she stepped in, the giant double doors shut behind her and lights came on - dim, glowing lights that cast frightening red illumination on the twenty foot tall hooded statues all around the domed temple. Jaina felt her heart and her mind stop completely.

She stood motionless at the center of the colossal Sith temple, her brain no longer functioning as her eyes swept each and every ominous statue. She was a fourteen year-old girl, she had no business being inside here at all. Jaina ignited her lightsaber, forcing her mind back into swift motion. As far as she could see, there were no second and third floors, no stairs. It was all one large, cavernous chamber. She couldn't find the source of the red lighting, but it seemed to ooze from the Temple's very walls.

Each statue appeared to be guarding alcoves, and Jaina had no doubt as to what she would find inside. Deciding to search the temple for any comm devices clockwise, Jaina moved to the leftmost alcove, ignoring the unnerving statue she'd just passed.

Her eyes widened as she found herself standing amidst towering shelves of books and scrolls. Had the circumstances been any less severe, Jaina would have beamed and grabbed the first book she could get her hands on and spent the entire night on it.

But, seeing as she was inside a Sith library, Jaina could only stare at the books and empty her rucksack of her remaining mealpacks and the tunic and jumpsuit she'd ruined during her stay on Zigoola.

She wasn't stealing. Right now, that was the only thing she was actually certain of. A common thief would merely run around the library, guess which of these books and scrolls would be worth a lot on the black market and grab them. Jaina was walking around slowly, carefully, though at the same time, she was aware of the time pressure, and going through all her holobooks and history lessons back at the Temple, while immersing herself in the Force.

At one point in her life, Gaspard suspected she had photographic memory, since she could easily remember texts and breezed through almost all academic subjects in addition to the physical ones. She'd laughed then, and still didn't believe she was that gifted now, but she had to admit, the dedication she'd given to every single course in the Temple had paid off time and time again.

She couldn't read ancient Sith writing and was aware that Jedi that could were rare. With those disheartening thoughts, Jaina glanced at her chrono, afraid of how swiftly time could pass. She stood in the middle of all the various shelves, in a small rotunda with more Sith writing on the ground.

As Jaina gazed around at the shelves, she realized a pattern that was vaguely familiar to her, though she could not pin it down. All the shelves were divided into four, leading Jaina to assume that there were four main categories in this library. The first and third were facing each other, with Jaina in the middle as she stood in the rotunda, and the second and fourth were perpendicular to the other two, also facing the rotunda.

Two diagonal corridors led back to the large guarding statue, while the other two lead nowhere but to the walls of the temple. She'd seen a layout similar to this before, but could not remember where. Jaina shut her eyes and clenched her fists, fiercely going through her memories. When the answer hit her, she almost gasped out loud, utterly stunned.

This library's layout mimicked that of the Jedi Archives.

Jaina glanced at the first row of shelves, lifting her lightsaber to cast illumination on the several books innocently resting there. She could not read, but she guessed these shelves were filled with records on the history of the Sith, their philosophies, and possibly ancient manuscripts written by the early Order.

Jaina ran through these shelves, grabbing anything that she felt the Force was instructing her to grab, and did the same for the other three halls, where she guessed there was information on the engineering sciences of Sith vehicles, the cultures and geography of planet's they had conquered, and other dark things such as alchemy, weapons and their secrets.

As she walked out the first alcove, momentarily stunned again by the large statue, Jaina had no doubt that she'd done the right thing for the Order, and her rucksack was now half-full with ancient books and crumpled scrolls. She knew there were Masters capable of reading through them back home on Coruscant.

Jaina stepped into the second alcove, and let out a nervous breath as she realized she'd stepped into the armory and weapon store. There were innumerable weapons mounted on the cavernous wall, ranging from melee weapons of every size to pistols, rifles, poison vials and some items Jaina did not even recognize.

"I am a Padawan, not a Jedi archeologist," she grumbled to herself as she carefully inserted vials into a special pocket in her backpack and wrapped the five small melee weapons and pistols she'd taken in her robe before also placing it inside. She Force-pulled a thousand year-old frightening gauntlet to her palm as she felt a strange feeling also urging her to take it. The backpack was almost full. "I have another job to do."

The third alcove was utterly empty. But Jaina got a dark feeling so powerful, so utterly _frightening_ that she ran to the next and last alcove like a youngling told that _this _particular house was haunted.

The last alcove had shelves lining one of the walls. Atop the shelves were several amulets and talismans of different sizes. On the other two walls were embedded geodes, containing crystals of bile yellow, pale green and other sickening colors. She recognized some of the talismans from her advanced history classes, and immediately grabbed the one she knew would help the wearer understand Sith hieroglyphs.

A strong pull urged her to put it on, and Jaina almost succumbed, but at the last minute, realized that she was definitely not strong enough, and with her Master's life on the line, she had no time for heroics.

Jaina grabbed two more amulets she recognized and used her lightsaber to cut off one of the geodes filled with multicolored crystals. Fearing that she would vomit, Jaina levitated the geode into her backpack and sealed it shut.

Jaina walked back to the center of the entire temple, gazing up at the statues, feeling a sense of failure that she'd missed something. Her rucksack was full and heavy, and Jaina let it rest beside the double doors, still disappointed at her failure to find a comm device despite the many artifacts she'd collected. After a few moments of motionless silence, Jaina snapped out of her reverie, stunned. There was something she'd missed during her self-guided tour of the Sith temple.

Right in the middle of the four alcoves was another large statue. Only this one, unlike the others, was wielding a lightsaber, and was not hooded. Its face was fearsome, _terrifying_, and Jaina had no idea that such a creature existed. Lowering her gaze to avoid the statue's bloodthirsty glare, Jaina walked forward, her lone boots echoing in the large chamber.

The statue was at the northernmost point of the temple, in between the second and third alcoves. Jaina knew she was missing something but when her eyes swept every inch of the statue, she was disappointed to find nothing.

As Jaina's alert gaze trailed the long lightsaber the statue wielded, Jaina was stunned and delighted to realize that what she was seeking couldn't be found on the statue but _behind _it.

The fearsome creature had a standard aggressive stance, with his dominant foot forward and as Jaina approached his other foot, she spotted a tiny slit in the wall just barely big enough to fit one person.

Jaina slipped her last glowstick from her belt and tied it to the statue with a piece of cloth she'd ripped from her leggings. After the entrance of the slit was a narrow staircase to the left, and as Jaina descended carefully, she was somewhat relieved to find that the green glow could still be seen even at the bottom. She would not lose her way.

There was another wall at the foot of the staircase and another slit to the left, and after Jaina squeezed through the hole, she had to drop to the ground a few meters down.

This next corridor was awfully dark, but had the same eerie red lights emanating from the walls themselves. It was an extremely narrow hallway with no ceiling, as the two walls on both sides just rose diagonally until they met, giving the corridor this strange triangular effect. Jaina guessed it was meant to give off fear and claustrophobia, and to give anyone walking the hallway the feeling as though he or she was soon going to be trapped.

Jaina stumbled backwards, gasping, after seeing a large amount of blood begin flowing down the wall nearest to her. But as soon as she blinked, the blood was gone.

This was it, the heart of the Temple.

At the end of the tortuous narrow hallway, was another large chamber, although this one had a low ceiling. Jaina stopped at the entrance, gulping at the sarcophagi flanking the walls. A few steps from where she was standing began tiles with Sith hieroglyphs, extending all the way to the edge of the chamber.

Just like the bindings of the books she'd went through above, Jaina found she couldn't read any of it, but something deep inside her warned her not to step on the tiles.

The problem was that there wasn't any other chamber, this was it. And when Jaina gazed at the end of the room, she could vaguely spot a black and red pyramid, ominously shining in the light.

Jaina's breath caught. "A Holocron."

Jaina extended her hand forward and began trying to Force-pull the tiny pyramid into her hand. It did not move a centimeter, and Jaina felt real frustration beginning to boil at the surface of her calm. She took in a deep breath and tried again, though she was already vaguely aware that it would not work.

She knew the Holocron was not the comm device she was looking for but Jaina also knew that there was a large chance this was what was behind the ruthless mental attacks against her Master. Behind the Holocron were several reddish black crystals and Jaina guessed that one of them would be the comm device.

One last time, Jaina extended her hand and attempted to Force-pull the objects into her palm. Nothing came sailing through the air, and the sarcophagi around her only got more and more unnerving. Jaina decided to get this over as quickly as possible.

She stepped closer to the floor covered in hieroglyphs, every cell in her body telling her this was a bad idea, and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. They were running out of time.

Jaina took one small step forward. There wasn't a single sound.

She stood motionless with both feet now atop the hieroglyph tiles, frozen with fear. She didn't know what it was, but something was wrong, terribly wrong.

Abruptly, as though a physical force had knocked the breath from her lungs and reached in to her heart, Jaina collapsed to her knees, dropping her lightsaber and breathing heavily. What was happening?

A vile poison was spreading into every inch of her body, contaminating her thoughts, her heart, her _mind_.

Jaina stared at her trembling hands and let out the first blood-curling scream, collapsing fully on the ground, her hands ripping her hair out from the roots.

_Her vision had been completely blinded by fire and smoke. Screams were echoing everywhere, screams from men, from women, _children_. The fire and smoke was entering her nostrils, blistering her feet, and she was free-falling story after story, unable to stop. An airbus was heading swiftly towards them._

_"MASTER!"_

Jaina pushed her fingers to her eyelids, causing mild pain that was enough to make her regain her focus. There was no fire, there were no screams. She was alone, and the chamber was deathly quiet.

Then the most terrifying sound she could have ever imagined filled her ears. The stone covers of each and every sarcophagus suddenly began sliding open.

Jaina Force-pulled her lightsaber back into her palm, her fear now escalating a level she'd never experienced before. Heart thumping, eyes filling with tears, Jaina held her lightsaber high and began dashing towards the Holocron.

She screamed again but managed to stay on her feet as the same poison filled her body.

_Grievous was gaining on her. There was nowhere to go. His monstrous eyes glared at her with immense hatred. She was going to die._

Jaina let out a strangled yell and struck her injured leg, vaguely remembering something her Master managed to do down in the ravine. The pain was blinding, excruciating, and it left her barely able to stand. But her head was clear.

Twenty-five or so rotting, decaying…_things…_were now swiftly moving towards her, all with the same odd, twitchy gait. Jaina had read about the terrifying Korriban zombies during her advanced history classes, revived by the Sith with their strange alchemy to guard their tombs and treasures. Now that she thought about it, Jaina was not that stunned to find them here.

The decaying stench filled her nostrils and Jaina raised her lightsaber, blocking the first powerful slash as a terrifying, high-pitched yell shook the room. Jaina, her face inches away from the snarling corpse, felt her heart completely stop as she stared at its distorted features. Vaguely aware that the blades they carried were cortosis, she parried the next slash the Rodian corpse threw her way.

The pain in her leg was lessening quickly, and as Jaina somersaulted into the air, swinging at the creature's head before she landed, she began to worry that she'd lose her focus soon.

One down, twenty-four more to go. There was no way she was going to be able to defeat all these creatures (she refused to call them _people_). But if she got to the Holocron and destroyed it before they destroyed her, then maybe the Senator and her Master would have a fighting chance.

Jaina swung her lightsaber from left to right, hitting away the next pair of blades that two species she didn't recognize aimed at her. No longer ashamed to admit her utter terror, Jaina sent a strong stab through the creature on the left, then swung her blade to the right and cut the other one in half.

Jaina cartwheeled backwards, barely missing a lengthy, rusty blade that had been aimed for her head. She landed badly and stumbled, her left ribs beginning to ache as she'd broken her earlier promise to the Senator not to breathe too deeply. Even in perfect health, defeating all these undead was impossible!

_Submit, Jedi, submit...Submit, Jedi, sumbit..._

"Kriffing...! Not NOW!" Jaina exclaimed, beginning to hear the same, powerful whisper that had already shattered their will several times in the past days. She leapt atop a nearby sarcophagus, stunning the nearest corpse, then somersaulted above it, to the next stone coffin.

_Submit, Jedi, submit...submit, Jedi, submit..._

The voices were getting louder now, louder than they'd ever been, persistent, sly voices that were manipulating her, slowly dragging her to a place she didn't wish to go. Jaina Force-pulled the corpse towards her before it could have turned around, then stabbed her lightsaber right through where its chest would have been a hundred years before.

Before Jaina could have moved on to the next group of twitchy undeads now approaching her from the right, a blinding flash of pain blurred her vision once more. Caught completely by surprise, Jaina stumbled off the coffin and landed on the cold, hard ground.

_Submit! Submit! Submit! Submit!_

_She was dangling thousands of feet in the air, holding on to the rooftop for dear life. Asajj Ventress was speeding away atop a vulture droid, that typical cruel, bloodthirsty smile plastered on her face. She gave Jaina a pleasant wave before disappearing into a cloud._

_Another white flash, and suddenly Jaina was walking around their base on Christophsis, watching the clone medics count the number of motionless troopers lying down on the ground in a straight line. Groans filled the air as the wounded were being tended to, and the dead mourned for. This was the life she'd been cursed to live._

Her vision blurred again, but this time there was no white flash. Only a sharp, fiery pain on her right arm. Then Jaina found herself forced back into the frightening world of the living.

She screamed, tears finally beginning to slide down her cheeks. Three of the creatures were holding her to ground, one on each arm and another on her legs. A fourth had just cut a deep wound onto her forearm and was now jerking itself slowly, ominously towards the Holocron with a knife full of her blood.

Jaina's eyes widened with a new sudden, frantic dread. But along with that dread came determination, and a new emotion she found she'd never experienced so strongly before.

_Rage._

Jaina glared at the nearest creature with such furious hate and called on the Force to fling it and its two companions effortlessly at the ceiling. She grabbed her lightsaber off the ground and flipped herself back to a standing position, then neatly sliced all their heads, their _skulls_, off.

"Seven," Jaina growled. She stepped atop the cover a nearby casket and put all her weight on it, causing it to fall to the ground. Jaina flipped off it and extended an arm, sending it sailing at a group of the creatures. "Ten."

Two large, powerful arms abruptly wrapped around her from behind and Jaina kicked at the now open sarcophagus with both her legs, pushing both herself and the corpse behind towards the wall.

It was momentarily stunned, and Jaina wasted no second, but planted her feet on the chest of another one that was approaching, then flipped above the Zabrak corpse behind her. They ran into each other, furious and confused, and Jaina ran her lightsaber through them before slashing fiercely to make sure they were harmless.

"Twelve...that makes..." Jaina trailed off, her mouth dropping open in horror as the remaining Sith guards surrounded her, while their leader held the bloodied knife above the glowing red holocron.

She did not even bother to resist as they grabbed her, as they forced her to her knees in front of the pyramidal object that, to Jaina, represented everything that was purely evil in this galaxy.

The first drop of blood splashed right on the pyramid's top, and Jaina cried out, feeling as though her head was being physically split open.

_She was suddenly back on Muunilinst, fighting alongside her Master against the fearsome Durge._

Then the white flash.

_And she was kneeling beside a fatally injured Gaspard, who'd just been caught in a Separatist explosion._

Another flash.

_Walking amongst the dead members of her company on a muddy, gloomy planet she'd purposely removed from her memories._

Flash.

And then came the memory Jaina had been dreading.

_Her Master had burst into the room only to find her completely in control, the Nikto bounty hunter now on the ground with his hands behind his head. She didn't need to turn around to know that Vitz, Leona and Gash were still slumped right behind her feet._

_"Took you long enough, Master," Jaina murmured, trying her best to put on a light smile, though ever inch of her body ached and her mind still reeled from what she had just experienced._

_Obi-Wan slowly began to cross the room, his expression incredibly relived. Before he could have reached her, a powerful hand wrapped around her neck and Gash's wicked laugh echoed in the room._

_"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Master Jedi" he murmured, sneering. Gash traced his other hand from her shoulder down her back. Jaina shivered, feeling him press a pistol there. "Stay right where you are."_

They were still surrounding her, their rotting arms holding her down firmly to the ground. Although her vision was still blurred, Jaina could make out their derogatory expressions, their satisfaction. They had succeeded in once again protecting the Holocron. And soon they'd have a juicy feast…

Jaina groaned as the white at the edges of her vision seeped in again and she was back in Gash's cruel clutches.

_"What do you expect to gain from this?" Jaina exclaimed, as he continued to drag her painfully up the stairs. Her Master followed slowly behind them, his pale face more furious than she could've ever imagined. For a first mission, this was going _spectacular.

_"I was hired to delay you, to stall," Gash replied casually, landing another painful kick on her already sore ribs when she stumbled up the final step. "Now I just need to leave. And I can't exactly do that without your help, dear Jaina, can I?"_

_Jaina frowned, seeing his ship already fully prepared. She gripped his sleeve and struggled to free herself, enraged. "You're despicable!"_

She was barely conscious now, all her energies wasted in her futile attempts to maintain her focus. Jaina could vaguely hear her own grunts and cries, was vaguely aware that she would be the only one to ever hear them.

The pain was intensifying and she saw through the haze that the creatures had taken the Holocron off from its platform. It was now directly above her and the cries of the dead Sith Lords were _unbearable_.

_DIE! JEDI! DIE! NOBODY WILL HEAR YOU SCREAM!_

Jaina shut her eyes, no longer finding the strength to fight back. The Holocron was carefully pressed into the palm of her hand and she felt all the centuries of power, of _poison_, begin to engulf her.

_"Thank you for your help, Jaina," Gash was whispering in her ear. "I couldn't have done it without you."_

_Without warning, he struck the back of her head and sent her stumbling to the ground. Extremely dizzy yet still determined to show her resilience to her new Master, Jaina ignored her body's protests and starting pushing herself off the ground._

_"He's getting away!" She exclaimed as Obi-Wan headed towards the ship._

Jaina clutched the Holocron tightly, torn between holding it for the rest of eternity in this mausoleum and shattering it to pieces. She'd completely lost the ability to tell the difference between reality and the visions now, and was, for some odd reason, beyond caring. But somewhere at the corner of her vision, she saw a bright blue flash of light…

_Her Master wasn't running towards the ship. Obi-Wan knelt down next to her and gently placed an urgent hand to her searing forehead. "Easy, Padawan, you could be suffering a concussion."_

_"They're getting away," Jaina repeated, softer now. The bounty hunters were so vile, so _evil_. As Jedi, surely they had to stop them._

_"You'll find, my young apprentice," Obi-Wan said quietly, "that those bounty hunters are not even close to being the wickedest beings in this galaxy. Now come on, help me. Where does it hurt?"_

They were gone. The corpses were gone…But that couldn't be possible. She was down on the ground, still suffering, still crying. She couldn't have taken them out…It must be another vision…

Vision or not, the poison was still spreading.

_Gaspard was dead. So was Ahsoka. And Anakin. Siri. Faithe. Commander Cody. All the clones – their entire System Army._

_And as Jaina ran down the ruined street, she found more dead bodies littered around the town. _

_Civilians._

_"No…" She murmured. "No, no, no, _NO!_"_

_"How could you let this happen?" The Chancellor's hologram showed the deepest disappointment imaginable._

_"Because of you, the Separatists have won the war!" Commander Cody yelled._

_"You have failed us, Jaina," came Mace Windu's stern, icy voice. _

_"Failed…" Yoda added. "The entire Order."_

_"I didn't, no, Master," Jaina cried out. "Please listen to me, please—"_

_The door slid open behind her and Obi-Wan stepped in, his expression even worse than fury._

Disappointment.

"_Master—"_

_"Don't, Jaina. It's over. You didn't just fail the Order…you failed me."_

She had no control now, no control of her body, of her mind. The Holocron would enforce insanity, would continue with vision after vision after vision, until she went senseless. Until she starved. Until she _died_.

Jaina was through with screaming now, knew that it would do no good and would only make the inevitable more painful. Yet somewhere else, somewhere nearby, Jaina thought she could hear someone crying out her name…

_Jaina descended the ramp of a shuttle, her hood completely covering her features. As she lowered the hood to glare at the incompetent clone troops in front of her, they all gasped in fear. Staring at them were eyes full of fury and hatred – eyes transformed from the soft shade of hazel brown to the infamous yellow…_

"Jaina, please!"

Somebody was calling out her name. But it was too far away. It was in the land of the living. And she was now amongst the land of the dead.

_"Jaina, please!"_

_Her Master, the great Obi-Wan Kenobi was kneeling over a slumped figure. The figure's eyes had returned to a gentle brown yet now, they were glassy. And Jaina stared up into the sky without seeing anything…_

"Jaina, don't do this, don't do this to me!"

But Jaina _could_ see. This next particular vision looked so authentic, so _real_. Her Master's frantic expression was staring down at her. The corpses were gone, it was just him.

Vision or not, a sudden burst of strength filled her veins as she looked back up at the man who she'd sworn to learn from, sworn to protect, sworn to trust with her life. Jaina tightly clutched the Holocron in her hand and swung it downwards at the ground.

Immediately, the voices and visions stopped. For the first time, Zigoola had been quieted. Yet one voice remained.

And Jaina was now not so sure if this was even a vision after all.

"M..Master…?"

* * *

**Oh, cliffys, I love them :D This will be the last for a while though! Next chapter is in the works! We'll be waving bye bye to Zigoola soon!**

**Shout-Outs! :)**

**Darth Comrade: **That review REALLY REALLY touched me :) I don't know what to say except thank you so very much. I actually based Zigoola on Korriban, the actual Sith Temple was not so bad in the original book :D

Thank you so much! Jaina's the whole reason I'm writing this story, instead of focusing on the events of the Clone Wars, I've always focused on the characters. As a teenage soldier, she's been affected and will continue to be affected by many things, but overcoming difficult trials is basically what this story is all about. When you remove the war and the sci-fi-ness of it all, what I've always wanted to do is create a character who is just like any one of us – she works herself to the bone to hone her talents and her passions and impress a mentor she's always looked up to. :)

That is the best complement I can have in regards to Jaina, thank you so very much! Obi-Wan should have been given a Padawan, oh, if only hahaha!

Thank you for that too! Making sure to nail Obi-Wan is the greatest difficulty and greatest pleasure I get out of writing this. It's sooo hard but it's so satisfying to know that I have been able to do it once or twice in the past. The dialogue is always fun, especially those involving dear old Master Kenobi and the Senator, and writing it is hard too but I really definitely enjoy it. (Oh gosh wow, thank you :" I can never even get myself to think I'm a great writer!)

Hehe, where I am summer is over, but no worries, no need to be embarrassed! :D And these past few chapters and the next ones are too exciting for me not to update real soon ;)

**Eliza Lighton:** Oh wow, I don't know what to say to that but thank you so, so much! Hopefully school will be taking up less time soon hahaha! I'll be posting soon! :)

**Angie:** Hey there! :D First of all, Jaina doesn't wear her armor because (1) She's not really used to it, and finds it more difficult to move in, (2) She thinks other than protection, it's a symbol of authority and is worn by the greatest Jedi generals (of course, she's quite wrong there) and (3) because she's a underneath it all, she's a teenage girl, and she'd rather not wear the armor :D All that will pop up in a conversation between her and Obi-Wan soon, and she's actually going to start wearing it.

Second of all, the clan. From my knowledge of the Jedi, but I'll make sure to double check, the clans are only there for the initiates or the younglings until a certain age. She was in a clan before, but now, when Jaina is not on missions, she just goes to different classes and courses with different people. Ximea, Callista, Faithe, Gaspard, Ahsoka, and later on, Aubrie Wyn, Barriss Offee, and several others are just her friends and acquaintances; they don't really belong to a clan anymore :) Like I mentioned earlier, Aubrie Wyn and a loooot of other Padawans are going to pop up during the Battle of Jabiim. Barriss is a friend of Ahsoka's, who is eventually going to be introduced to Jaina. A lot of other Padawans are going to be introduced as the story progresses and I don't think Jaina knew that many people aboard the Falleen group :)

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** I know! Poor Obi :(( I dunno about that, that's why I left this cliffy :D I wonder, is it another vision, or is it really him? Hmmm something to think about :D At least we know the Holocron is gone for good.

I'd say Jaina herself sometimes is a mixture of pure bravery and utter stupidity. The Senator is definitely no help, but then again I, and later on she, have to wonder how things would've turned out if she waited for her Master to wake up. But then again she felt the need to prove herself and Obi-Wan wasn't in great shape either. He is going to be explaining a lot in the next chapter. :)

I know! Having Yoda in one's pocket must be so useful! Yup, it's the same leg that was injured in the explosions on Coruscant, and it's just been injured again! Poor girl ouch! Hahaha. Senator Organa had to get less annoying at some point, and I think now that they're so close to the end, he had to shape up. He, Obi-Wan and Jaina are going to remain friends after this though :)

Thank you! Already working on the next chapter! ;)

**Littlelionluvr:** I'd say it's a bit of both! She wouldn't be who she is today without both! Hahaha. I dunno about awesomely elaborate rescue, I'll leave you and your imagination to interpret this cliffy until I update again ;)

**Charliebrown1234: S**hhhh! Don't spoil what happens next! :P I dunno about the heroic master thing, we'll just have to wait and see what happens next hehehe! :D Here's that fast update! Another one coming soon!

**Stabbythings:** Last cliffy for a while :D I figured I should give them a rest…until the next intense mission :)

**MrPowell:** Wild Space is definitely one of my favorites :) Thank you!

Regarding Obi-Wan, he explained when they arrived on Zigoola that the Sith would be mentally attacking them one by one, (to break them both by actually just breaking one) and he had a theory that it would be like that as their journey progressed. As they got closer and closer to the temple, the Holocron started attacking Obi-Wan alone, since he is the Master and the obvious threat to the temple, and stopped battering Jaina, leaving her mentally unaffected. It was only when she stepped on the tiles that the Holocron attacked her, because that was some sort of alarm that set off when she got too close to it. Obi-Wan will be explaining all of this in the next chapter :)

Thank you!

**Ben Keto1415:** I think another two words can describe this chapter: MORE INTENSE =)) Well your feeling was right ;) Talk to you soon!

**No worries guys, all lose ends and questions will most probably be answered in the next chapter ;) Until then, may the Force be with you all! Reviews are appreciated!**


	29. Rescue

Chapter 28 - Rescue

"_Jaina_...Come on, Padawan, don't do this to me..."

Somebody was shaking her. Gently, but still painfully. Every bone in her body ached, now was not the time to be _shook_.

"Stop it..." Jaina murmured, slowly opening her eyes and attempting to glare at the blurred figure in front of her. "_Ouch_…!"

"What happened?" The concerned voice asked. "Where does it hurt?"

_Everywhere_, she wanted to snap. But she just exhaled heavily and struggled to sit up. Her hazy vision was getting clearer. "Master…? Is that you…?"

"Thank the Force you're all right," the person exclaimed in relief, throwing two heavy arms around her shoulders.

"Ow," Jaina cringed. "No hugging, no hugging."

"You are _not _leaving the Temple as soon as we get back!" Obi-Wan exploded abruptly, pulling back. Yep. This was definitely not a vision. "_What were you thinking?_ That has got to be the most impulsive, most courageous, most utterly _stupid _thing you've ever done! Are you _trying _to give me a heart attack? I almost tossed the poor Senator of the cliff!"

"You're...welcome," Jaina grumbled, pushing her fingers to her eyelids. All she wanted to do was sleep. She'd never felt so worn out.

"What happened?" He continued rambling. "I need to check for injuries. Concussion? Did you break anything? Oh Force, I have half a mind to leave you at the Temple the next time I go on a mission!"

"You _what_!" She gaped. All the memories and fierce visions she'd endured only minutes before continued to fuel a growing anger she wasn't aware was inside the deepest part of her. Right now, her Master was feeding it. "Master, _you can't be serious_!"

"What were you thinking?" Obi-Wan repeated, helping her off the ground slowly. "You could have been killed!"

"How'd you even get here?" Jaina griped.

He lowered to a crouch, gazing at the strange markings on the ground. "When you stepped on these, you must've triggered the temple's inner defense. I was already conscious and yelling at the Senator when the Sith voices and the memories suddenly stopped. I assumed the worst, dashed inside and saw a glowstick tied to one of the statues feet," Obi-Wan said, raising an eyebrow. "Then I find you here, convulsing on the ground, practically _dead_, with those...those _things _all around you! You could've easily been killed!"

"I broke it, didn't I?" She said defensively, gesturing vehemently at the shattered remains of the Holocron. "And look," Jaina Force-pulled the nearest black and red crystal to her palm, glad that the Force had returned to her in this chamber. "Comm crystals. This is our ticket out of here. I don't understand what you're complaining about."

"You don't-you don't understand-" Obi-Wan trailed off, his face flushed, eyes bordering on furious.

_Uh-oh_. She'd pushed her Master to his limits.

Before he could have exploded, the walls behind them began to shake. Jaina glanced at the crystal in her palm. "Sithspit."

The ceiling of the chamber rocked from side to side; fatal, jagged pieces of rock began pummeling towards them. She could hear the Sith temple's furious lament at her thievery and the destruction of their Holocron.

"This isn't over," Obi-Wan exclaimed, abruptly slinging her arm over his shoulder and causing a fresh pain to erupt. They began sprinting back through the corridor and up the stairs.

"We're not going to make it!" Jaina cried. The entire temple was shaking now, the statues guarding each alcove no longer as frightening as they began to crumble.

Making it to the double doors would be extremely difficult, sharp rocks continued falling towards them as though the temple itself was trying to keep them from escaping.

"_Obi-Wan_!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from the doors. "Get out of there _now_!"

"Senator! Are you insane?" Obi-Wan demanded. They were now halfway across the cavernous chamber. "_You_ get out!"

Jaina cursed under her breath as she stubbed her foot on a piece of rubble that had fallen right in front of them. She fell to her knees, scraping her hands on the ground, and narrowly avoiding the arm of one of the statues.

"Now's not the time to give up, Jaina," Obi-Wan said gently, with an edge of persistence. He slung her arm back over his shoulder, choosing to ignore her sharp curse. "Almost there, I promise."

Jaina had been on the front lines since the war began, sometimes going for days and weeks without adequate sleep or food. But she had _never _felt so battered, so defeated.

"Wait," she murmured softly, as they almost went through the double doors. The walls were collapsing, there was no time…

"For what?" Obi-Wan demanded, aghast.

Jaina stumbled back through the doors and grabbed the knapsack she'd left there. She practically collapsed backwards as the head of one of the guard statues almost crushed her, and remained on the ground outside the temple as it continued destroying itself.

"Not far enough yet," Obi-Wan grumbled, as he and Senator Organa tightly grasped both of her arms, and hauled her far away from the doors.

She felt oddly miserable, seeing something as beautiful, yet still utterly evil, demolish itself from the inside out. As soon as the last piece of rubble fell, it was silent – deathly silent, for the first time on Zigoola.

Jaina heard her heart beat. Heard it beat again.

She slipped her hand into an inner pocket of her tunic and brought out the tiny black and red crystal. It pulsated in her palm, as though it was alive, and Jaina placed it on the ground, unsure of what to do next. "Well, we've got our ticket out of here…how do we use it?"

"It's telepathic. It can reach Yoda, at the Jedi Temple," Obi-Wan said, his voice in an odd monotone, his expression blank. He crouched in front of her, picking up the crystal and examining it. "I'm going to need you to help me, my young Padawan. I need you to keep that promise you made to me on the ship."

"Anything, Master, you know I will," Jaina said, eyes glinting with utter resolve. "Besides, I'm sure after going into the temple alone, it's not going to be difficult," she added wryly.

Obi-Wan clutched his lightsaber hilt tightly and slipped it off his belt, his eyes intense as he stared at it. Then he handed it to her. "Actually you're wrong."

Jaina's eyes widened. She couldn't turn her eyes away from the elegant hilt. "What? Master, I'm sorry, I don't understand…What do you need me to do?"

He gently placed a finger underneath her chin and lifted it, so their gazes met. "Jaina. Think of the ravine. Remember? Pain clears my mind. Drowns out the Dark Side…"

She stared at him blankly for several seconds, then as the realization sunk in, her eyes widened and she almost completely collapsed to the ground, heart racing. "_No!_ Master, ask me to something, _anything_ but that…please don't…"

"We have a duty, Padawan," he said sternly, eyes now flashing. "And the Senator has a wife, the Senator has a planet. And _you_ have a duty to the GAR, to the innocent, to _me_. I know it's hard, but you must follow my orders."

"_No_!" Jaina cried out again, throwing the lightsaber back towards him, disgusted with the idea. "I won't do it, I'm not going to—Master, I'm already badly injured, do it to _me _instead!"

Senator Organa's eyes widened from his position standing in front of them and he lowered to the ground as well. "Absolutely not! Both of you are crazy! Just let me destroy the wretched thing and—"

"NO!" Obi-Wan exploded, causing the Senator to move back, startled. "_Jaina_," he hissed. This was bad, this was so, terribly bad on so many levels. Her Master had to be the most patient man in the universe, he never got mad. Yet, now he was _furious_. "You. Promised. Me." He said, giving each word painful emphasis. "And even if you didn't, do not forget that as my Padawan, you are _honor-bound _to obey me. Now take the lightsaber, and stop making us all spend one more minute in this…this PLACE more than we have to!"

Jaina recoiled, noticeably. She could see from the look of shock and dread on the Senator's face that she had just visibly shrunk. Jaina reluctantly took the lightsaber from her Master's outstretched palm and clutched her chest, feeling as though it would explode. She blew out a long breath. "Yes, Master."

"Good," he said curtly. "Now, listen carefully. Bail, get me the coordinates."

Senator Organa slipped a small flimsy out of his pack and handed it to Obi-Wan's steady hands. "Okay. Listen to me, Jaina. Here," he gestured at the leg he'd injured after falling down the ravine. "No point making…new holes. And _don't_ stab. Lay the blade…against the wound. Not hard. Not long. I don't…want to lose…my leg. It's a bit far to hop home."

Jaina stared at her master incredulously. He was _joking_? How could he possibly _joke_ at a time like this? It wasn't funny at all, it was dreadful. "Master, do you want me to…" She gulped. "Would you like me to warn you? Shall I—do you want me to…I don't know, count to three first?"

Obi-Wan gave her a look. "_Jaina_."

"Yes, Master," she said, sighing. Jaina inhaled deeply and stopped breathing, then lowered the blade towards her Master's already-bloodied leg.

There was a revolting sizzling sound, then the sickening stench of burnt flesh and blood. Eyes wide, fists tightly clutched, back arching, Obi-Wan swallowed a yell.

"I'm sorry, Master," Jaina gasped, abruptly pulling it away. "I'm sorry, I think I—"

"That was no good. _Do it again_."

"Oh, Force _please_ help me," she whimpered, ignoring her hazy vision and lowering the blade to his leg again. All Jaina wanted to do was vomit. She wanted to _weep_. Her Master's eyes were blank, focused on something beyond them as he tried once again to reach the Jedi Temple.

"No," he said, teeth gritted. "Jaina, _again._"

The first tear slid down her cheek as Jaina finally put more weight behind the electric blue blade. The wound was ghastly, and her Master let out the first grunt, the first sound letting them know of his true, inner anguish. Jaina immediately pulled the lightsaber back and deactivated it, collapsing on the harsh soil.

Her Master was staring at her intently, tightly clutching her wrist as he struggled to speak. "They're…" he murmured, already beginning to sink into unconsciousness, "coming…"

He passed out completely now, slumped against the rock Bail had put behind them and Jaina stumbled back, staggering to the cliff face. She shoved her hair out of her face and retched down the cliff, totally emptied what little food her stomach had. She gagged, forcefully wiping the streaming tears off her cheeks, and just rested her forehead against the cold dirt.

"Hey," Bail's concerned voice said from behind her, and his warm hand landed on her shoulder. "Breathe, Jaina…"

Jaina sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest, fighting hysteria. She'd just _stabbed _her own _Master_. What could have possibly prepared her for that? There was no textbook, no teacher that could have possibly warned her _hey, Jaina, be ready, you just might have to injure your own Master sometime in the future_.

No.

She'd never heard of something so repulsive in her life. And yet, she'd just done it.

"Don't cry," he murmured, sitting next to her and wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulder. What was he doing? Her Master was bleeding meters behind them and he was _comforting_ her? Such an insufferable man. But now, he'd become such a dear friend.

"Bail," she sobbed, lowering her head to her knees yet allowing him to embrace her. "You need…to…stop the bleeding…he might…bleed…to death…will be my fault…"

"I will, Jaina, I will," the Senator murmured firmly, giving her arm a comforting squeeze then rising off the ground. "Stay here and watch over him, I'll get the medkit down at our camp. And _don't_ cry. You might fall off this cliff."

If Jaina had the energy to laugh, she would have. But there was absolutely nothing funny about this situation so she just nodded, running a hand through her disheveled hair.

Bail began the climb back down and she raised her gaze to the large full moon. It had to be close to midnight now, another day had passed in this wretched place. She put two fingers to her nose and closed her eyes, struggling to stop her vehement sobs.

Her Master had tried to protect her, as usual. Now that she thought about it, there was no way in the Nine Hells he would have agreed to stab _her_. But that wasn't fair. Surely being the one physically injured had to be less painful. The wound would fade, but the memory of deliberately inflicting pain on her mentor would remain in her mind forever.

Jaina ran the back of her hand under her nose, now feeling the terror beginning to die down. She continued staring at the moon, hoping with all her heart and soul that the next time she saw it would be back home on Coruscant.

"Padawan…" A weak voice called from behind her.

"Master," Jaina breathed in relief, immediately rushing to his side. The wound was a nasty shade of dark crimson, and she raised her gaze to his clear eyes to avoid vomiting again.

"I'm proud of you," Obi-Wan murmured quietly, offering her a comforting smile and wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulder. "But I'm also sorry you had to do that."

"Master, don't…" She trailed off, looking away as her vision blurred with unshed tears. No one should have to go through this.

"Nevertheless," he said, giving her a reassuring squeeze, "you did well."

"I stabbed your leg well?" Jaina wrinkled her nose. "Great."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "We'll talk about this some other time when we're both no longer exhausted, malnourished, and filthy."

"Fair enough," she replied, giving him the only smile she could manage.

"But, before that…" He glanced at his wrist chrono then pulled out a small, pitiful, wilted flower from an inside pocket of his tunic. "I'm sorry it's so…dead, but this was all I could find on this planet and on such short notice. I'm ashamed to say I almost forgot," Obi-Wan grinned sheepishly. "It's only temporary; Anakin, Ahsoka and I had something…planned back home."

Jaina looked at the flower then back at her Master. "What? What's this?"

"Well, it appears I'm not the only one who seems to have forgotten," He chuckled again then placed the gloomy black flower behind her ear. "It's not every day, especially in the midst of this terrible war, that one gets to celebrate his Padawan's fifteenth birthday."

Jaina stared blankly at him. Fifteenth birthday? Surely she hadn't…_No_.

The tears she'd been holding back suddenly began to roll down freely. She was fifteen. She'd survived this wretched war for a _year_ and that in itself was an achievement. That was why birthdays were so much more important now to the Jedi, because with every explosion, every shot, every weapon, each birthday could be the _last_.

Her Master had remembered. Her Master had remembered after she'd just _stabbed_ him.

Jaina lowered her head onto his shoulder, her quiet tears engulfed by the endless silence of the night. "Thank you…" she stammered, unable to say anything else. Her last precious moments of being fourteen had been spent laying a blade against her mentor's already-injured skin. Perfect. What a perfect day.

This could be her last birthday. She could be blown to bits tomorrow. She could be shot next week; captured next month. This could be the last.

But as much as Jaina kept thinking about the endless gruesome possibilities, she also found herself looking back at the year that had just passed. She'd been taken on as a Padawan by _the_ Master Kenobi. She'd started a completely unexpected friendship with the impetuous Ahsoka Tano, grounded on a mutual competitiveness that Jaina thought would never die. She'd learned from some of the best, become a better pilot under the likes of Saesee Tiin, a better diplomat under Adi Gallia.

But she'd faced repulsive corpses, destroyed a Sith Holocron. She'd faced Ventress and Grievous, and death itself, barely escaping. She'd watched Gaspard almost get caught in an explosion. She'd suffered under the cunning Zan Arbor and her bioweapon. She'd been captured by brutal bounty hunters, experienced probably just _half_ of what prisoners of war felt. As Jaina looked to the year ahead of her, she hoped she would never feel the whole.

Jaina counted the first few minutes of being fifteen, inhaling deeply. She breathed out all her past fears, painful experiences, her feelings of resentment. It was another year. And now she truly felt like she could let the past go.

"A birthday is supposed to be spent in quiet meditation and reflection," Obi-Wan said softly, breaking her out of her reverie. "Unless the Republic comes out here in a second, I don't think I can give that to you, no matter how much I want to…_but_ I think you've just accomplished the necessary reflection in a span of…five minutes?"

Jaina grinned for the first time in what seemed like days. "What can I say, Master, I'm a pretty fast learner."

Obi-Wan laughed. "Believe me, I've noticed."

"Okay, I found the medkits," Bail said, face flushed and sweaty as he stumbled up the cliff face. "Oh, good, he's conscious. What…" He looked at Jaina, confused. "What's with the flower…? Never mind, I don't want to know."

Jaina chuckled and plucked the medkit from his fingers, then sat down on the ground beside her Master, beginning to clean up the wound. "It's a long story…"

* * *

Jaina awoke to a bright, bright light, and found herself extremely dizzy, not even aware that she had fallen asleep. The ground beneath her was soft, no longer the uncomfortable stone-filled dirt she last remembered being on. A soft cloth was draped over her lower body, and she could make out at least two figures to her left. Jaina gasped, sitting up abruptly.

"_Whoa_, careful there," the one nearest to her said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder and pushing her back down on the bunk bed she was in. "You're already pretty battered enough."

_Cody_...? Jaina almost blurted, but she cut herself short. Had she been away from the war _that_ long that she'd forgotten the Grand Army was almost entirely composed of clones? Instead, she nodded weakly and collapsed back on the pillow, turning her gaze to the second figure also next to the bed she was on.

"Senator Amidala," Jaina breathed out, confused. This was all so baffling. Was this still a dream?

The Senator offered her a sad smile, then rested a hand on her shoulder. "Everything's all right," she said quietly. "Obi-Wan was able to contact the Temple, and Yoda sent us to Zigoola to rescue you three. We're aboard one of the fastest ships in the galaxy, almost at Coruscant. We should be landing soon, Jaina."

"How long have I been…wait…where is he?" She asked urgently, attempting to sit back up. "His—his leg, has anyone—"

"Yes, his leg is fine now," Amidala said soothingly, pushing her back onto the pillow with only half the force of the Medic, but just as much authority. "Now, _you_ on the other hand…you need to rest too."

Jaina sighed then somehow found the strength to give her half a smile. "I'll live."

The Senator glanced at another bed behind them then smiled down at Jaina. When she followed her gaze, she found her Master, also fast asleep. "We're finally going home…"

"Yes, we are," Bail walked into the large room, his expression, for the first time in days, relaxed and unperturbed. "Padmé, do you mind if I speak with Jaina for a moment?"

"Not at all," Senator Amidala said graciously. She smiled down at her again. "If you need assistance, or even something as trivial as painkillers, you let Captain Korbel know, all right?"

Jaina nodded, the feeling of being safe and around familiar people already boosting her strength immensely. "Thanks for coming to rescue, Senator Amidala. It was perfect timing."

"That's my job," she chuckled, then stepped out with Captain Korbel, sliding the door shut behind them.

"Something the matter, Senator?" Jaina asked, finally meeting his gaze and raising herself on her elbows.

"You," he said quietly, dangerously, sitting down on the chair Korbel left behind, "have got to be the most…the most _insane_, the most loyal, most courageous fourteen year-old girl I've ever met. Will ever meet."

Jaina raised an eyebrow, uncertain of how to reply. "Uh…well, if you want to get technical, I'm fifteen."

"You're—you're…_what_?"

"I became fifteen officially…" Jaina glanced at her watch. "Twelve hours ago. Wow, it's been that long…?"

"Sedatives. They injected some as soon as they arrived even though you were already asleep," Bail said, waving a hand. "It's irrelevant. Happy birthday, Jaina," he said grinning sheepishly.

"Thanks," Jaina said, chuckling. She gave him a wry smile. "And thanks for letting them force me to sleep for _half_ my birthday!"

"I had no say in the matter, Korbel was the chief medic!"

"Sure," she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, still, regardless of Korbel and his sedatives," Bail murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I mean it. Your actions were…nothing short of remarkable, Jaina. And I must thank you for keeping me alive."

"I definitely had help for that part," Jaina said, smiling and glancing over at her Master's prone form.

"I know you did, and I'll thank Obi-Wan later with another long, heartfelt, Senate-worthy speech," Organa said, laughing. "But for now, I just wanted to thank _you_. I cannot even articulate how grateful I am that it was you and your Master who accompanied me on this mission."

"You're welcome, Bail," she said, touched. "And I hope this means we're going to remain friends?"

"Of course it does," he said. "But I think we should probably stick with 'Senator' in the Senate building for purposes of formality."

"Yes, Senator," Jaina grinned.

"But outside that building, Commander," Bail winked, "it'll be just like Zigoola. But _without_ the creepy Sith."

Jaina laughed. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Obi-Wan muttered groggily, startling them.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she joked, chuckling. "About time you got up."

"Yes, well, long day, you know how it is," Obi-Wan murmured, now fully awake.

"What did you think of the mission, Master Kenobi?" Bail asked, glancing at both of them. "I'd say your Padawan definitely proved herself after those explosions."

Jaina felt her cheeks burn and pulled the blanket over her face, grumbling inaudibly.

"I never felt Coruscant was her fault and I certainly _never_ thought she had to prove herself," Obi-Wan said quickly, defensively. "But, now that we're on the subject of proving herself, then I'd have to say yes, that much she did, and I'm proud of how much she's grown in the past year."

Jaina slowly lowered the blanket, staring at him. "You mean it?"

"When have I ever said something I didn't mean?" Obi-Wan chuckled. "Yes, Padawan. Zigoola has shown me that you're very much capable of far surpassing _any_ expectations a person may have of you."

Jaina smiled. "Thank you, Master. I'm…that means a lot to me."

The door to their chamber slid open again and Senator Amidala glided in, a soft smile on her face. "We're home."

Jaina slid off the bed carefully, with the help of two of the clone medics on both her sides. They delicately lifted her arms over their shoulders then helped her limp out the room, passing a full length mirror along the way. Jaina grimaced at her reflection, seeing small cuts still running across her face, her entire torso tightly wrapped in gauze and her left leg completely covered in beige bandages. She was now wearing a baggy robe in a light tan color, and her boots had been replaced with equally as loose sandals.

"I'm sure Master Che will be pleased to see us again so soon," Jaina murmured, flinching as they neared the landing ramp.

It was broad daylight on Coruscant, and the Jedi Temple hangar bay was as busy as it usually was. Bail and Senator Amidala remained on the ship and prepared to leave for the Senate building, while they began to exit. Standing at the bottom of the ramp was a classically expressionless Master Yoda, an impatient Master Anakin, and a pale, anxious Gaspard, visibly tapping his boot against the metal floor.

"We're back," Obi-Wan said, breaking the awkward silence from his place in front of her, his sheepish grin mirroring her own.

"Where have you two been?" Anakin exploded abruptly. "It's been a week, _a week!_ With no communication from you whatsoever!"

"We had a few problems, Master Anakin," Jaina murmured, smiling. "Have to say, I missed your voice and your constant banter with Master Obi-Wan."

"You—" Anakin stopped short, then breathed out a long sigh, hand on the bridge of his nose. "Jaina, you hang around him too much. You're starting to sound like him."

"Well, I'd rather have her sounding like me than you," Obi-Wan shot back defensively.

"Master Obi-Wan," Yoda said, before Anakin could have retorted, "Young Skywalker, speak for a moment, we must."

Jaina took that as her cue to step aside, so she moved slowly towards Gaspard, who was now surprisingly calm on the outside. She smiled at her friend. "Hey."

"Jaina. You, you, you—you are so—!" Gaspard spluttered, slowly walking towards her. "Every time you leave, you—I was so worried, I thought—UGH. _Jaina!_"

"What?" Jaina said innocently, raising an eyebrow.

"_What happened to you?_" He asked loudly, gesturing at her bandaged body.

"What happened to me?" Jaina started, noticing a large bacta patch on his shoulder. "What happened to _you_?"

"What happened—nothing happened to me!" Gaspard said defensively. "Well, I mean, I—it's irrelevant. I kind of got shot, anyway, back to you, what—"

"You got shot? What do you mean you got shot?"

"I mean _I got_ _shot!_ Jaina, why—"

"By what?"

"By a droid!"

"Destroyers?"

"Umm...well, no."

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "SBD?"

"No, Jaina—"

"Ohh, commando droid!"

"No!"

"Umm…assassin droid?"

"Jaina, _no_!"

"Wow, what shot you then?" Jaina asked, confused. "No way." She burst out laughing. "You let one of those _stick-tinnies_ get you?"

"I did not!" Gaspard flushed, looking away and scratching his neck absently. "My back was turned…"

Jaina laughed and wrapped an arm around him. "It's okay," she said wryly. "I'm sure everyone has their moments!"

Gaspard grinned and pulled her into an embrace. "Clearly, you just had yours! You look like death's door! What happened to you on your mission?" He demanded, pulling away and looking at her again. "I'll make a deal, you don't tell the younglings it was just a battledroid, and I won't tell them you were sent to the infirmary twice in about…three weeks."

Jaina glared at him, her cheeks heating up. "Fine. Deal."

"What happened on the mission?"

Jaina looked over her shoulder, glancing at the Masters, who appeared to have finished their conversation.

"_Officially_, I can't tell you anything but—"

"_Unofficially_, I'll be at your room by midnight," Gaspard said, laughing and starting to walk away. "Happy birthday, Jaina! We missed you, it was just starting to get quiet over here!"

"See you!" Jaina grinned then turned to her Master, Master Yoda and Anakin. "So, what's the verdict?"

"We'll discuss Zigoola fully later on," Anakin said, waving a hand. "Master Yoda is going to schedule a Council meeting for your full report but for now, you two need your rest."

"So what are we doing?" She asked, confused.

"Now," Obi-Wan sighed. "Now we are going back to see Master Che in the Halls of Healing. I'm not so sure she'll be pleased to see us..."

* * *

**Shout-Outs! (This was the first non-cliffy in FOREVER. And then there's going to be another one in the next chapter :P Nyahaha :) Hope you enjoyed this non-cliffy while it lasts! :P)**

**Algebraiya:** Thank you so much!

**washu-man:** Thank you!

**Marc:** Thanks! It gets better! ;)

**Littlelionluvr:** Thanks! Hopefully she is, it's difficult to balance it sometimes :)) She has to be talented enough for someone like Obi-Wan to pick her as a Padawan yet she can't be overly gifted, that's why I just made her hardworking instead :)) Thanks for the support!

**Angie: **Nope, I don't think so, or rather, I hope not! She got angry, but I suppose all Jedi get even a little bit angry at some point, they're human too :) She's going to feel guilty about that moment, but with all the pressure and all the emotions running high, the rage just overwhelmed her.

Thank you so much again for your support! :) And don't worry, I LOVE questions. It tells me my readers are beginning to care about the characters just as much as I do! Anyway :)) At the moment, no, Jaina does not have an astromech, she switches around with the Temple's many droids. But that will change REAL soon :D I already have a nickname in mind ;)

Now about the 7 Forms hmm :)) First and foremost, Jaina is a Soresu fighter. Even before she became Obi-Wan's apprentice, she was already a Soresu fighter because it's also in her personality, she has a bit of a pacifist in her, and would never deliberately hurt someone. She also utilizes Ataru quite a lot, with her acrobatics and jumps and other feats, but mainly, it's Soresu. Form I, I think every initiate has to learn before becoming a Padawan. Makashi, she does from time to time to but it's extremely rare. Small spoiler, Jaina _attempts_ to learn Jar'Kai by herself, because she thinks it's the only way to defeat Ventress after this terrible incident, but that's still waaaay in the future :D Don't hesitate about your questions, I love them! ;)

**HNZ: **Thank you so much! Will do, already at work at the next big problem :) Hahaha thanks!

**Type-R:** I will, again!

**Thedarkacrobat:** Thank you so much! Wow! That's amazing! Thank you so much again!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: **Me too, I felt so depressed just writing that chapter The beginning of this one was also intense for me, I was glad for the light conversation at the end of this :)) I originally didn't want to put the zombies in, and I didn't want to call them that either cause I find it a bit un-Star-Wars-y but I came across them in a book set in Korriban so I thought "why shouldn't they be on Zigoola too?" :)) They're actually pretty frightening the way I imagine them and I thought it would be a good test of character for Jaina =)) Nahh, if Obi-Wan came in ten minutes earlier, she wouldn't have been able to prove herself and 'redeem' herself after her guilt on Coruscant =)) But yeah, might have saved her health a little bit HAHAHA. I will be updating soon! Just a little more light-ness, then next conflict happens in the next chapter :D

**Stabbythings:** Thank youuuu! No cliffy here at all! Can't believe I managed :D =))

**Guywhosings28:** GASP you changed your name =)) No cliff hanger this time! :D =)) Thank you! I love intensity HAHAHA. Gets super intense again soon :)

**Charliebrown1234: **Here! No cliffy! :D Next chapter will have one though :P Thaaaank you! I wanted to make it scarier than Wild Space partly because it's going to be from the perspective of a fourteen/fifteen year old girl hahaha. Hope this non-cliffy makes up for it :D


	30. Vulnerabilities

**OMG THIS IS THE LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE ENTIRE STORY BY ALMOST A THOUSAND WORDS 0_0**

Chapter 29 – Vulnerabilities

"You know," Jaina said conversationally. "I hope you are both aware that this blindfold is highly unnecessary. We went down a corridor from the Halls of Healing, into a turbolift, down 9 floors, down a hallway, we turned right, then left, then went down a small flight of stairs. So…I'd say we're headed for either Sparring Chamber B, the meditation grottos, the nearest dining hall, or the hangar bay. Personally, I'm a bit tired for the Sparring Chamber, so I hope we're headed for _food._"

Obi-Wan chuckled from his place somewhere next to her. "Typical. Always thinking with your stomach."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Jaina," Ahsoka said cheerfully, her arm still around Jaina's shoulder as she guided her. "But, no, we're not getting food right now. We can after."

"Ugh, are we meditating, Master?" Jaina asked, turning to her left, still unable to see anything but darkness.

Obi-Wan laughed this time. "We can, do you want to?"

"Save the meditating for next time, my old Master," Master Anakin's voice came from meters away, amused, as he almost always was. "Right now, we have some business to do."

They stopped walking, and Jaina subtly tapped her boot on the ground. Metal. "We're at the hangar bay."

"Yep," Anakin said, now closer to them. "Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and I prepared a little something for you."

"Now can I remove the blindfold?" Jaina asked, curious and excited.

"Is it ready?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's ready," Ahsoka replied giddily.

Someone untied the blindfold and Jaina blinked as the light suddenly filled her vision. In front of her, Anakin was leaning against something. Jaina gasped.

"We figured you'd need a new one eventually," Anakin said, shrugging. "Old one's pretty battered up. And I might have tinkered with a couple of things here and there. I know, there's the whole saying about Jedi not having possessions and all," he rolled his eyes jokingly then smiled at her, "but—"

"This is from the three of us," Ahsoka said cheerfully. "Happy birthday, Jaina!"

Behind Anakin was a brand new Delta-7B, laser cannons painfully shiny. "It's just like your typical Delta-7B, but I added a few things," Anakin said, grinning. "Proton torpedo launchers are below the laser cannons, but unfortunately with the size of the ship, I could only fit 14. They're still pretty useful. Atmospheric speed has been increased to 1,350 kilometers per hour, a hundred kilometers faster than your usual 7B, fuel lasts 7 hours now, instead of 5, shields should be much stronger, oh, and I was able to increase the accuracy of the targeting systems."

Jaina gaped at him. "Thanks," she mumbled, still in shock. "It's…_purple_."

"Oh…about that," Anakin murmured sheepishly. "It was Ahsoka's idea," he said quickly. "She said you liked purple."

"She does like purple!" Ahsoka said defensively. "She wanted a purple lightsaber originally but decided to go with blue since Master Obi-Wan gave that crystal to her for her last birthday! Jaina likes purple…right?"

Jaina threw her arms around her friend, laughing. "I _love_ it! Purple's brilliant!"

Ahsoka giggled. "_I knew it!_ I told you so! You owe me lunch at Dex's, Skyguy."

"Hmph."

"Just wait until your birthday, Ahsoka, I will _definitely_ get you back!" Jaina exclaimed, playfully shoving her away.

"Please, you can't outdo this," She retorted, smiling smugly.

"We'll see! Thank you, Master Anakin!" Jaina said, grinning and giving Ahsoka's pleased Master a hug. "I can't wait to test it out!"

"Snips and I can race you and Obi-Wan soon," he replied, winking. "My starfighter has been even more heavily tinkered than yours, that much you can bet on."

Jaina smirked. "Deal." She turned around to her Master, who'd remained silent the whole time, a smile on his face.

"It was all his idea," Ahsoka said, chuckling. "Master Anakin tinkered, I had it repainted purple, but Master Obi-Wan spoke to the Head Mechanics here about getting another 7B for you."

"Master, you are so…" Jaina trailed off, laughing and throwing her arms around him. "I cannot believe you kept this from me!"

"It wouldn't have been as fun if you knew," Obi-Wan chuckled, returning the hug and patting her back affectionately. "The old one was a little outdated. I thought it was time to get you a new one."

Cheerful beeping halted Jaina from replying and she turned around to find the source of the noise. A small R6 unit was rolling towards her, chirping loudly, until it stopped at her feet. "What's this?" She exclaimed, grinning. "It's pink!"

"Oh, right, sorry," Ahsoka said sheepishly. "They had no purple astromech droids but I figured you'd be okay with a pink one too. This is R6-Q10. But I like to call him QT," she winked.

"_Cutie?_" Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Have to say, Ahsoka, I preferred Goldie."

"That's cause you never met him," Anakin chuckled bitterly.

"R6 should be really helpful, and she just got in, one of the newer models," Obi-Wan said, smiling down at the droid. "I don't want you getting as attached to her as Anakin is to Artoo, but—"

"Haha," Anakin said wryly. "Very funny."

"—but you kept switching astromech units and never really bothered to actually keep one," he continued, ignoring the interruption with a grin. "I just don't want you chasing QT to a Separatist Listening Post should she get lost, and _don't_ program her with all our tactics and base locations, but otherwise…I figured she should come with the ship."

"And besides," Ahsoka added, putting a hand atop her shiny dome. "We always said there aren't enough pinks and purples on the battlefield! QT blends in perfectly with your new 7B, wouldn't you say?"

Jaina grinned at the gleaming silver and white droid. "Hey there, QT," she murmured, tapping its dome. "I still don't believe this; it's all so incredible!"

"We thought it was about time a real pilot got a _real_ ship," Anakin said, winking. "You were already pretty good with that old piece of poodoo. I can't wait to see you in this baby."

"Oh, I'm definitely going to be beating your scores in the next dogfight, Master Anakin," Jaina said, smirking and sitting atop the 7B's wing. "Those Seppies will be better off never getting into a ship again."

"That's the spirit," Anakin said, grinning. "Ahsoka and I are going to get some lunch, are you two coming?"

"In a minute, we'll meet you there," Obi-Wan said, before Jaina's grumbling stomach could have replied. As soon as Anakin and Ahsoka disappeared out the hangar bay, Obi-Wan began walking towards another exit. "Care to walk with me, Jaina?"

Jaina smiled and nodded, then followed at her usual half-step behind. "Thanks again, Master," she said as they entered a nearby turbolift. "I promise I won't be crashing this one."

The turbolift began to speed downwards and Obi-Wan chuckled. "If I don't want you crashing, it's not because of the ship!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Jaina said, raising two hands and grinning. "Where are we headed anyway?"

"Nowhere," Obi-Wan said, stepping out of the lift as it came to a halt. "We're just taking a walk."

Jaina followed him down a familiar hallway and already had an idea where they were going. "Master Che says we're not allowed to leave the Temple for two weeks," she said warningly. "I think she means it this time."

"Oh, we're not going anywhere," he grinned, then pushed open the two large wooden doors Jaina knew she would be seeing.

"The Room of a Thousand Fountains," Jaina smiled then sighed a moment later as she followed him down their customary path. "Great. Usually when you take me here for a talk, we have one of those…_serious_ conversations about life that leave me feeling vulnerable and contemplative…Now that I think about it, this is where _all_ Masters have a serious talk with their apprentices."

"That's not true, Padawan," Obi-Wan said defensively, turning to look at her. "Sometimes we come here for a joke or two. This greenhouse is for relaxation."

"_And_ contemplation," she said, folding her arms across her chest as they crossed a bridge over a stream. "And with you, usually it's contemplation."

"Usually with me, it's both," he said smiling, as they neared their typical spot. "Would you do the honors this time?"

Jaina gazed at the little waterfall at the end of one of the more secluded pathways in the greenhouse. She hadn't used the Force for anything since Zigoola, had been too exhausted to try even the simplest push. "Why can't we be like _normal_ Master-Padawan pairs and simply use the benches all around this place?"

"There's no fun in that, is there?"

Jaina lifted a hand slowly, taking in a deep breath and feeling the lush life all around her. The water cascading down from its unseen source gradually split into two smaller falls, and, as she gestured with her other hand, it left one particular spot underneath totally dry.

She smiled but remained in front of the waterfall, which was now pouring on both sides about three feet away from its original center. "Hard to imagine we couldn't even manage something this simple on Zigoola," Jaina said quietly, thinking of the large thunderstorm they could not protect themselves from.

Her Master entered the tiny cavern that was now visible, that had been covered by the water flowing moments ago. He helped her and used the Force to alter the water's trajectory almost effortlessly as he sat down on the moist ground.

Jaina planted her hands on her hips. "What's this?"

Obi-Wan gestured at the space next to him. "This is us not having a…'serious'…talk."

Jaina rolled her eyes, chuckling, and sat next to him, still keeping the water away from them at the back of her mind. "Really?"

"Well…no, not really," he said sheepishly. "Actually, that would depend on your definition of serious…You and I both know that what happened on Zigoola needs to be talked about, my Padawan."

Jaina exhaled deeply, staring out at the other fountains and waterfalls in the greenhouse. It had been merely a week since they'd arrived from the wretched planet. Too late to undo what had been done, too soon to discuss it. Jaina remained silent.

"Maybe this goes even farther back than Zigoola," Obi-Wan said turning away from her and starting to stare at the fountains too. "Maybe it goes back to the terrorist explosions. Or even farther back than that. Maybe. I don't know."

Jaina almost rolled her eyes, stretching her legs out and leaning against the cavern's wall. "I don't know if I should be scared or relieved that you know me so well, Master."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "Maybe a little bit of both."

Jaina half-smiled and tucked her hair behind her ears, sighing. She bit her bottom lip and swallowed the pang in her throat away.

"Padawan?" Obi-Wan asked, turning back to look at her.

"It's just that," she exhaled again, chewing on her lip and trying to find the words, "these past weeks have made me realize a couple of things…and these are realizations that I don't really want to face…"

"Such as?"

"Well," Jaina sighed, frustrated. Nobody could possibly understand everything she was being forced to go through. "There are…a lot of people better than me…at _everything_. People who are willing to do more…than me…to achieve their goals. What if…in the end…my best just _isn't_ good enough?"

"Jaina," Obi-Wan began, exhaling and shifting his position so that he was looking her full in the face. "_I_ don't even know what your best is. And this is coming from me, I'm your teacher, I've been observing you and helping you since the beginning."

"I know, Master, but—"

"In fact, I don't believe in one person having a _best_. I think everyone has limits, but they are never permanent. With hard work and determination, you may very well surpass them. Just as you did on Zigoola. Your best isn't permanent, my young apprentice, it's just there until you realize that you're capable than doing _better_ than your best. Besides, Jaina," he said, beginning to smile. He ruffled her hair affectionately. "I _chose_ you as a Padawan, remember? And when have I ever chosen any less than the best?"

"But it's just that…" Jaina turned away, feeling upset at herself for not being able to articulate her confusing emotions. "You said all these things about a person's _best_ and limits and all that. But the thing is, I don't even know my limits. And it's frustrating sometimes because, I _know_ I can do better than this, this isn't my best yet, or my limit or whatever you want to call it. If given the chance, I _know_ deep in my heart that I can do more. And that is what's so incredibly frustrating. Knowing I can do more, but knowing that there are others out there who can prevent me from doing it."

"Jaina, you should never doubt yourself or our faith in you," Obi-Wan said, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I know there may be times when events or even people will put you down, but you do have talent, you do have determination, and you have this idealistic innocence that makes you sincerely work for _others_ and help them. _That_ is what will always make you succeed. Working for someone else, for the greater good."

"Is that enough? Do you really think that's enough, Master? I mean this is an extremely tough…profession in an even harsher world. One shot. That's all it takes to _end _me. One shot that could have slipped past my defenses, one grenade that went off far too close, one starfighter that collided with mine. It's…very much possible that I'm simply just not good enough for this."

"If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be where you are today, right now."

"If I'm not good enough, I won't be here or anywhere anytime in the near future."

"Jaina, you _are_ here," Obi-Wan said, almost sternly. "This is a difficult profession, this is a difficult life, that's true, but you have people who are here to make it easier for you in any way they can."

"But it's only going to get harder, you and I both know that," Jaina said, sighing. "What happens then?"

"What happens is _you'll struggle_," Obi-Wan said, looking at her with his clear, blue eyes. "You'll fail, you'll succeed; you _will_ struggle. But we are all going to be here to struggle with you. Don't ever forget that."

Jaina raised her gaze from the ground and smiled at her Master. "I won't."

"And you don't need to think about the others out there who may or may not be better than you," he continued. "Just focus on _you_ and being you. And _please_, don't feel as though you have a responsibility to fill in Anakin's shoes."

Jaina flinched, gawking at him. Not once had she ever mentioned the pressure she put on herself deep, _deep_ down to be a good apprentice after the famed Chosen One.

"Don't give me that look, I know what you're hiding," Obi-Wan said sternly. "And when I started searching for another Padawan, I was not looking for a younger version of Anakin. You are your own person, with your own gifts, your own personality. Quite frankly, I prefer it that way, having another Anakin would give me gray hair."

Jaina giggled. "I wouldn't want to do that."

"No, I would be rather unhappy about that…Jaina, you need to let it all go," he said, gazing back out at the fountains. "Now. All of it. Your past fears, your past terrible experiences, your past resentments. I know for a fact that you'll gain new ones, but first you need to let these go. Having it build up inside is only going to make you explode."

Jaina crossed her legs, sighing. "I know, Master…" she said quietly.

"Good," Obi-Wan said. "And when the time comes that you gain new fears, new traumatic incidents, new feelings of animosity towards people…I'll simply take you back here like I always do, does that sound good?"

Jaina chuckled. In spite of her duty of having to fight in the dreadful war that was now spreading across the galaxy like wildfire, she had to be the most fortunate Padawan in the universe. "Yes, Master."

"All right, so we're in agreement," he said, looking up at the pathway. "And right on time, we have a visitor."

Jaina followed her Master as he stepped outside the cavern. A wave of his hand started the water flowing freely again and they both bowed. "Master Yoda."

"Master Kenobi," the ancient Jedi Master replied. "Padawan Jaina. Sit."

Jaina sank to the cool grass next to her Master, wondering what Master Yoda had to say.

"Eager the Council is, Obi-Wan, to hear of what happened on Zigoola," he said, balancing comfortably on his gimer stick. "Ready to speak of it yet, are you both?"

Obi-Wan remained expressionless, yet Jaina sensed the dark memory of their mission threatening to breach her Master's outward calm. "I think so, Master Yoda."

"An affirmative answer, that is not."

"I'm sorry, Master, it is the only answer I have to give you."

Yoda sighed heavily. "Trouble you are, Obi-Wan, Jaina. Understand I do. Time you need, and time you will have."

Obi-Wan plucked a stem of grass and observed it carefully his face now grave. "Do you know, Master Yoda," his voice uncharacteristically quiet, "there is more of the light side in this tiny sliver of grass than I could feel in my whole body while I was on Zigoola? It was…" he paused, scrutinizing the tiny green sliver again. "The most empty…the most lonely, the most _bereft_ I have ever felt. Worse even than all the deaths I relieved, so many times, as though each time was the first."

Jaina glanced at the ground, alarmed at how perfectly her eloquent Master had articulated every single tiny emotion she'd felt while on Zigoola. "Master Yoda," she said quietly, turning her gaze at the Jedi Master, "that…that emptiness…It's what awaits the Republic if we should lose this war with the Sith. It's an outcome to be…_deplored_. And avoided at absolutely any cost, no matter now high."

"Agree with you, I do, Padawan," Yoda said. "But dwell on this experience both of you must _not_. Survive it you did. Learn much from it you did."

"That's true," Obi-Wan said, nodding. "And I shan't dwell, I promise."

"Tell me, can you, the most important thing you learned?"

"That I am a Jedi," he replied simply and with great joy. Jaina beamed in agreement. "And always will be."

Yoda nodded and smiled, before sighing again. "A great pity it is that the artifacts you discovered were ruined beyond recovery with the collapse of the Sith temple."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "They were poison, Master, they—"

"Actually," Jaina interrupted shyly. "I thought about that while I was in the temple, and I figured we shouldn't waste the _entire_ trip without having learned something more…concrete about the Sith. Not that I'm saying those other things we learned aren't important, but…" She grinned sheepishly. "The knapsack I brought back is full of artifacts: scrolls, talismans, crystals, weapons…it's all for the Temple analysis droids and Jedi librarians."

That made even Yoda stare. "Indeed?"

"Sorry, I forgot to mention it earlier, Master."

Obi-Wan looked stunned, an expression he hardly wore on his face. "How did you manage to pick out which ones to get? And how _did_ you get them? Some of them could have been dangerous even just to the touch!"

Jaina shrugged. "I used the Force, what I could feel of it anyways. It took an enormous amount of concentration and it was exhausting, but I think I was able to get some pretty useful things…"

"Hmmm." Yoda poked the tip of his gimer stick to the ground, watching the soft soil give way. "A victory this is, albeit a hard-earned one." He looked up at them. "And what of this Senator from Alderaan? Bail Organa. Trust him can we, Obi-Wan, to keep our secrets safe?"

"Oh, yes, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan said, beaming.

"We can trust Bail with our lives," Jaina added.

"Pleased to hear it, I am," he said, standing back up. "And now leave you, I will. Rest, Obi-Wan, Jaina. Your strength you both must recover. Need you we do, in this war against the Sith."

* * *

"Thank you so much for letting me tag along, Master Adi," Jaina said cheerfully, following the great Jedi Master down one of the thousands of hallways in the vast Senate complex. She was in her best tunic, as she always was when in the Senate, and had her hair pulled back in a neat braid. Her body felt as good as new, better than she had ever felt since the war began. The injuries were gone, along with the burdens she'd been carrying, been hiding, underneath her steadfast exterior. Master Obi-Wan and Master Che were saviors. "I thought I was going insane, it's already been two weeks since our mission…but Master Che hasn't cleared us for duty yet and it's a miracle she even let me out of the Temple precinct."

"It's a miracle you have Master Kenobi to convince her for you," Adi corrected, chuckling, turning down another corridor.

"That too," she said, grinning. "I think he understood that after all these battles, being in classrooms for more than a week would have me jumping off the Council Tower."

"You know, Jaina, you're probably one of the very few Padawans, actually _Jedi_ in general, I know of that enjoy spending time here in the Senate. Other than myself of course."

"I already know pretty well how the military works," Jaina replied after a moment, trailing Master Adi up the first flight of stairs. "I find it interesting also learning about the people who are even on top of the Army and Navy. Besides, I've always been fond of political science, it's just the…_politicians_ themselves who I've learned to dislike."

"Because of your Master, no doubt," Adi said wryly, placing her palm on the door that slid open to their pod. "Now, Jaina, as you know, this is still a class, even though we're no longer in the classroom."

"Yes, Master Gallia," Jaina said, inclining her head and stepping in after her.

"What do you know about the Bill being presented here today?"

"Certain parties are trying to pass the Core Worlds Security Act," she recited, having read the HoloNet yesterday. "It's supposed to heighten the security of all systems in the Core Worlds and reassign various military, naval and security assets to the protection of planets such as Coruscant, thus ensuring that they are safe from the advancing CIS forces."

"Good," Master Adi said, taking a seat at the front of their pod. The Senate Chamber was filled with noise as Senators and other Representatives began filling up their respective repulsorpods. "Then what's the problem?"

Jaina sat in the chair behind her teacher, eyes sweeping the thousands of people that were now gathering in the giant chamber. "Well, the Core Worlds aren't the only systems out there. Geographically, the Core Worlds are actually very much far away from the rest of the galaxy. The Representatives of planets in the Mid Rim and especially the Outer Rim believe that it's being enacted to appease business and financial supporters in the Core. They feel they are being left undefended against the Seps."

"Exactly," She said, turning around to offer her a smile as the Chancellor's podium began to rise from the center. "And now we watch the events unfold…"

Jaina leaned back in her chair, observing how this particular session started transitioning from a civil debate to a heated argument. Their pod was among the higher ones, and she had to squint often to see who was speaking. Among the familiar voices, and _faces_, was their intolerable friend, His Serene Highness, Prince Bail Organa, First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan, or as they've come to know him…_Bail._

Jaina leaned forward, elbows on her knees, grinning subconsciously. Oh, how she missed their political debates.

"The Republic is about equality," Bail was saying in his 'Senatorial voice'. "We cannot continue with that slogan when we leave our brothers in the Outer Rim practically unprotected!"

"My people have been spread too thinly throughout our system," Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora added, distressed. Jaina met the Senator during a mission to their freezing ice world, and had a growing respect for her since then. "We need reinforcements!"

Another thirty minutes passed, full of powerful points and even more formidable rebuttals. Jaina felt like she was right at the center of a rope being used for tug-of-war. It was debates and Senate sessions like these that really made her think.

"Our resources are limited, my friends, believe me, I understand the complexity of this particular bill," Palpatine said abruptly, cutting off the outburst that had erupted. As the days continued to pass, the Chamber looked more to Jaina like a zoo instead of a place of discussion. "But as this is democracy, the majority has to attain victory. I'm afraid I am going to have to _pass_ this bill into a law. It is now officially the Core Worlds Security Act. This session is ended."

Jaina leaned back on the seat for a few moments, trying to slow down her racing thoughts. "Come on, Jaina," Master Adi said, standing up. "I'm sure your Master's waiting for you."

"Right," she mumbled, following her out the pod, still deep in thought. She'd always found logistics so mindboggling, even more so with all the supplies, ships and men needed to find a war of this scale.

"What did you think?" Adi asked, turning to her thoughtfully as they walked down the stairs.

"I think…I sided with the opposition so I'm actually quite unhappy that they lost," Jaina murmured reluctantly, bringing two fingers to her chin, a bad habit she'd been teased for many times, after inheriting it from her Master. Though, of course, she had no beard. "I don't know, but being on the front lines, I've seen how a lack of men, supplies, or weapons can completely change the outcome of a battle. And, I guess reassigning a huge amount of resources just to the Core Worlds sounds a bit…um…well, selfish."

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinions, Jaina, there's no need to be embarrassed about it," Master Adi said, smiling and gesturing at a group of Senators up ahead. "Friend of yours?"

Jaina followed her gaze and saw Senator Amidala, Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila, Senator Onaconda Farr of Rodia, and Bail, who surreptitiously grinning at her.

Jaina beamed too then turned to her teacher. "Do you mind if I speak with him for a moment, Master Gallia? I'm sure I'll be able to gain some insight."

Master Adi laughed. "No problem, Jaina, go 'gain some insight.' And you know," she added, as Jaina began walking towards him, "for the Padawan of a man so against politics, you certainly are making your connections with them. I think you're secretly a politician at heart."

"I'd appreciate it if you'd keep that secret, Master Gallia," Jaina joked, grinning then turning to bow respectfully at the group of Senators.

"Fancy seeing you here, Commander," Bail said, with the tiniest hint of their usual mockery. "Senators, might I introduce you to Jaina, Padawan of the esteemed Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Jaina, this is Mon Mothma, and this is Onaconda Farr. I believe you've already met Senator Amidala."

"I have had the pleasure, yes," Jaina said, inclining her head at the compassionate, intelligent Representative of Naboo. "I have to say, your speech really moved me back there."

"Thank you, Jaina. We all do what we can to end this war," Amidala said, turning her gracious smile at them all.

"Tell me, what is a young Jedi like yourself doing out here in the Senate?" Mon Mothma asked curiously, her expression equally as cordial as Senator Amidala's.

"Master Adi Gallia likes to take us on regular field trips here for her political science elective," Jaina replied. "Most, if not all, of her other students are offplanet."

"Fighting in this terrible war," Padmé murmured with a sigh. "It's awful that even the younger ones are being sent out without a second thought…Why are you still here on Coruscant, Jaina? I'm surprised you and Obi-Wan have not been assigned a mission yet."

"We haven't been cleared for duty after our last mission," Jaina said, leaving out the details that had been deemed confidential since they were around others. "And I think after this newest law, things are going to change."

Bail's expression darkened and he looked away, angry. "This shouldn't be how things are going. At this rate, we're going to push away our supporters in the Outer Rim."

"We can't say that," Jaina said, sighing. "Without those supporters, the CIS is going to win the war. Simple divide and conquer tactics, the Core Worlds will be vulnerable, even with all this protection, if the Outer Rim and Mid Rim have been conquered."

"Exactly why we need to prevent that," Mon Mothma said quietly. "I will see you all soon, my friends," she murmured, already turning away with Onaconda Farr. "It was nice meeting you, Jaina."

"Likewise," Jaina said, smiling, then she turned to Bail and Senator Amidala. "I must return to Master Kenobi before he starts to comm me."

"Say hello to him for me," Amidala said. "And be careful, Jaina."

"I will, Senator Amidala. And I'll let him know you had a good excuse for not visiting us in the medcenter, Senator Organa, shall I?"

Senator Amidala laughed, and Bail just glared at her mockingly. "I'd appreciate that, thanks. You stay safe, Jaina, okay? Things aren't looking too good…"

"You too, Senator, the battle you're all waging in the Senate isn't looking too good either," Jaina said, grimacing. "This new Core Worlds Security Act is going to cause uproar in the Outer Rim, that much I'm sure of. And we need every single system to support us, especially at this time."

"I don't like the way this war is playing out," Amidala said, crossing her arms and exhaling heavily. "There's no end in sight. It keeps getting easier and easier for the Confederacy to divide us. I hope at the end of this dark time, we'll still have a Republic to protect."

"I know what you mean," Bail said quietly. "In case you get sent out again before we can wish you good luck, promise me you'll take care of yourself, Jaina. And take care of that frustrating Master of yours too, he gets into trouble far more often then he should."

* * *

The next weeks swiftly turned into _months_, months filled with equally as challenging missions. She'd gone from Vanquor to Ryloth, from the fierce gundarks to the equally as brutal gutkurrs, from attempting to hunt down Count Dooku to saving the lives of innocent Twi'leks. Until now, she couldn't tell if she was _un_fortunate or lucky to have been with Ahsoka aboard the _Resolute_ while their Masters were held captive with Dooku on Florrum. She'd narrowly missed her first meeting with the esteemed Count.

A long and arduous month had passed since their victory on Ryloth; merely a week after their narrow escape on the space station, Juma-9 and the ensuing skirmish on the Naboo moon, Behpour.

She and her Master, along with Jedi Generals Plo Koon and Windu, and Master Anakin and Ahsoka, had been successful in destroying the Gravitic polatization superweapon the CIS had planned on utilizing there.

Now, Jaina stood on her hands at the tip of the tallest cliff and waterfall in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, finally at rest. Eyes closed, breathing even, she went through the month's events in her mind, careful not to cross the bridge between contemplating and dwelling too much. Her hair, now almost waist-length, was flowing freely to the dirt, and her bare feet were reaching towards the ceiling.

"Jaina," called a familiar voice from several meters below.

She looked down, or rather_ up_, at the ground below. "Gaspard," she greeted, opening her eyes slowly and smiling. All the blood in her body had now gathered in her head, and was causing the slightest headache. Jaina cart-wheeled back to her feet then performed a backflip into the fresh water below.

"Show-off," Gaspard muttered, laughing as she stepped out of the water.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jaina replied innocently, grabbing her towel and stepping into the small space behind the waterfall to put her tunic back on. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just didn't see you the whole day and guessed you'd be here," he said. "Only you would be hand-standing atop a cliff in the middle of the night."

Jaina glanced at her chrono then swiftly braided her soaking hair, stepping out from behind the crack. It was past midnight. "Sometimes I just need time to think. Before my Master perceives that something is wrong and decides to take me back here."

"_Is_ something wrong?" Gaspard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Jaina answered hesitantly, thinking. "I'm just tired, is all. And sometimes I can't help but wonder what would have happened to our generation of Padawans if this wretched war never happened."

"I know what you mean," he said heavily, leaning against the cliff. "I get so tired, especially when—"

Jaina started, already feeling something was wrong before it had happened. All the lights in the huge greenhouse abruptly shut off, leaving them engulfed in total darkness. "_Gaspard_," Jaina murmured, alarmed. She ignited her lightsaber. "What's happening?"

Gaspard's green blade was out a split-second after hers and he whirled around, standing in front of her protectively. "Not sure," he replied, tense.

Jaina rolled her eyes and stepped out from behind him. "You forget that out of the thousands of times that we've sparred, I've probably won twice as much as you have."

He glared at her. "Come on, we need to find our Masters and see what's going on."

Jaina nodded and began sprinting down the way she came. "Quick, this way!" The Temple was deathly silent, yet she could sense each and every alert Jedi, could practically feel the silent footsteps now beginning to overwhelm the entire complex. They _would_ protect their home.

"_Padawan!_" A voice abruptly called as soon as they'd exited the greenhouse.

"Master, what's happening?" Jaina asked, hurrying towards Obi-Wan and Garen, who were now approaching them. How their Masters knew they were in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, she didn't know. "Is the entire Temple out?"

"Not just the Temple, but the entire precinct," Master Garen said, his face urgent. "Come on, Gaspard. Each Master/Padawan pair has been assigned a sector to protect. We need to get moving."

Jaina nodded at her friend encouragingly, silently wishing him to be careful, then turned to her Master. "Backup generators?"

"Somehow disabled," Obi-Wan replied, his face aggravated. "Until now, we don't know who did it."

"How in the blazes did this happen?" Jaina asked, still alarmed. She walked to the nearest glass window, gazing at the darkness that was now overwhelming the Temple. Kilometers away yet still within the precinct and already almost at the Processional Way, familiar mechanical movement caught her eye. Jaina gasped, horrified. "Master…"

Obi-Wan stepped forward until he was behind her, and his keen gaze swept the area. "What is it, Padawan?"

Jaina lifted a weak finger, pointing at the advancing line of droidekas and SBDs, now almost at the bronzium statues of the Four Masters. "It's…it's an—"

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber, his blue-green eyes glinting with disgust and fury. "It's an invasion."

* * *

**Hi guys! Have to say, I was slightly nervous about the flower as a gift in the previous chapter, it was difficult to make it not seem too un-Obi-Wan. I've received positive feedback about it, and that's made me really happy! I've really enjoyed delving into Obi-Wan's relationship with Jaina, it's something quite different from his relationship with Anakin since she's much more vulnerable and times are more difficult.**

**Fun Fact: The Core Worlds Security Act is a canon law that was passed early in the war :)**

**All the politics in this chapter, I originally didn't want to include, but I wanted to put one last scene with Bail, since he's not going to be popping up for a while, and I also wanted to show how the Separatists (and Palpatine/Sidious for that matter) have been using divide and conquer since the beginning to spread the Jedi thinly across the galaxy.**

**Shout-Outs!**

**Classical Brunette: **Omg whoa! Never thought I'd receive _that_ kind of compliment! I loved Wild Space the first couple of times I read it, but had to read it about ten times before I finally started writing this subplot, and now I'm rather sick of it after all that reading and writing hahaha. Thank you sooooo much! That's really one of the best compliments I can ever get. I'd love to see Blurred Destinies as a book one day, that'd be sooo amazing 8D Yikes, I haven't really thought about that, my original plot outline for this story is pretty long so I haven't thought about what I'm doing after though I probably will! Thank you, I promise I'll be updating again real soon!

**Eliza Lighton:** Thanks! Won't be keeping you all waiting again for long! ;)

**Narra156:** Thank you sooooo much!

**Littlelionluvr:** Gosh, everyone's so shocked about the absence of a cliff-hanger =)) This chapter's ending made up for the other one ;) HAHAHA :)) Hope this was epic-ly awesome enough for you! :D =))

**Stabbythings:** Here's another cliffy! :D Oh, no, poor Obi-Wan and Jaina, they didn't see it! D: Thank you so much! Will be updating soon!

**Angie:** Thank you! The next couple of chapters will also be set in the Temple, if you guys haven't already guessed that. I seriously cannot thank you enough for all your kind words! Yup, Callista and a whole lot of other Jedi from my story and the actual canon will be appearing in the next chapters with this large scale attack on the Temple. And sorry to say, no, Callista has not turned over a new leaf, she's still the same :D At some point, I think it's very much possible that she is jealous. As much as Jaina won't admit it, this war has brought out the best in her (along with the worst, haha!) and it's making her work even harder in spite of her already apparent gifts, so it's expected, I think, for some of her contemporaries to be a bit resentful. We'll see what happens in the future :)

About Anakin and Jaina, no, there is no rivalry whatsoever. Obi-Wan being defensive and their banter and all was meant to be something to show how friendly and comfortable they are around each other. After this chapter, and her new ship, I think it's been shown that the four of them, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Jaina and Ahsoka, are very much in excellent terms and are something like an odd family.

I cannot wait for Season 3, each season just keeps getting better and better! I think Ventress has lost her scariness (actually, along with Grievous), like there's just something about them both, they keep losing all their battles. I'm hoping they're able to bring back the frightening Ventress in Season 3. She's becoming less and less of a threat in my opinion. Still can't wait though! :)

**Charliebrown1234:** YES I DID, AND I JUST UPDATED AGAIN IN LIKE A WEEK! ;) NYAHAHA AWESOME :D Thaaaaaaaaaaank you soooo much as usual!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** Hehe, here's another cliffy to make up for it! :P HAHAHA! Thank you! I really enjoyed writing that scene with the flower, it was so touching, even more so in the midst of all their suffering. Yup! Master Che was not pleased it at all :D Thank you, hearing that makes me sooo addicted to writing too! ;)

**MrPowell: **Thank you! I'll update soon!

**Guywhosings28:** Thanks! It's always so hard to balance drama and comedy, I'm glad you think I was able to do both! And omg I love that line, was laughing while writing it =))

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though the action only came at the end! Will update real soon, everyone! :)**


	31. Bastion

**_Recruited by Dooku, Asajj Ventress became a Sith aspirant and embarked on a vicious killing spree against the Jedi as a Separatist commander during the Clone Wars. However, her general obsession over the Jedi eventually developed into a specific obsession over Obi-Wan Kenobi._**

**_-Wookieepedia_**

Chapter 30 – Bastion

"How did this happen?" Jaina rambled, stepping out of the turbolift shaft they'd just ascended with their liquid cable launchers. The darkness continued threatening to engulf their blue lightsabers. She walked hastily alongside her Master up the stairs to the Tower of First Knowledge. "They just put the Core Worlds Security Act into effect _three_ months ago then _this_ happens? How—"

"Do not forget, Padawan, that it was only _a month ago_ that a group of brigands and bounty hunters was successfully able to hold the entire East Wing of the Senate building hostage," Obi-Wan cut her off, almost harshly. His voice softened. "With these troubled times, sometimes even _Coruscant_ is no longer safe."

Jaina looked up at him, the implications of what he'd just said barely sinking in. "But Master…then where _are_ we safe?"

"We were assigned to the Main Entrance of the Archives," Obi-Wan said calmly, smoothly and irritatingly avoiding the question. "Of course we were assigned here," he said with a sigh. "It's just the two of us here, stay alert."

"Yes, Master. You never explained anything to me, what's happening?" Jaina persisted, hopping up the last step, sprinting to catch up with him as he hurried down a hallway. "MASTER!"

"The rest of the Council estimates _at least_ two legions," Obi-Wan said quietly. "There could be more hidden, and some of them are equipped with weapons that specifically repel lightsabers. We don't know what they want just yet, but we suspect they snuck aboard a military supply convoy."

"But there are at least four checkpoints before it lands at the Temple Docking Bays," Jaina protested.

"Yes, and in those _six_ checkpoints, all the men are dead," Obi-Wan said, stopping and looking at her somberly. "We still don't know how they did it this discreetly."

"All?" Jaina gaped.

"All," he repeated with a sigh, then turning to walk towards the entrance and assuming a defensive position. Two large bronzium statues of ancient Jedi flanked them, almost giving them physical support. The entire place was deathly quiet.

"But they're the _best_ of the best on those checkpoints!" She argued, more to herself. "Especially with all Palpatine's laws, the_ finest_ soldiers are in the Core and—"

"Padawan, _focus_!" Obi-Wan said sharply. "Someone was able to sneak into the Temple earlier this evening, and completely sabotage all power in the _entire_ precinct. Including the backup power. _All_ reactors are down. It could take hours to fix, maybe _months_, maybe minutes. But right now, we have a job to do."

"The Senate, fine, it's slightly understandable," Jaina murmured after several moments of the deafening silence. "But the _Jedi Temple_? This is the Republic's greatest stronghold against the Separatists, how did they manage to _do_ this?"

"We mustn't be that arrogant, my young apprentice," Obi-Wan said quietly, his tone reprimanding. "It's this pride and belief that Coruscant is the safest place in the galaxy that has made us all so vulnerable to these attacks. At the end of the day, we have to remember that Coruscant is a planet just like any other."

"A planet with the headquarters of the Grand Army of the Republic _and_ the Jedi Order. I still don't understand how this happened."

"You forget that Dooku was a Jedi," her Master said simply, giving her a look. "He knows the Temple just as well if not better than the rest of us."

She gaped at him. "You think Dooku is behind this?"

"I haven't the slightest idea who has mounted this attack, Jaina," Obi-Wan replied evenly. "But the fact of the matter is, all power is inoperative, most of the entrances and exits have been locked down, not that you'd find any of us fleeing, and communications have been sabotaged as well."

"_Sabotaged_? You mean the Senate and the GAR haven't been—"

"No," Obi-Wan said, incredibly frustrated. "All types of communication have been completely jammed. It's a miracle our wrist comms even work, but we suspect they're going to find a way around our internal communications system soon. We have two Masters already on the way to the Senate and another two flying to the GAR docks, but so far, we're on our own."

"The younglings?" She gasped, hand flying to her mouth.

"Being protected in the High Council Tower by their clan heads," he replied.

"No idea what the CIS is after?" Jaina asked, holding her lightsaber across her body in an offensive position. Attacking the Temple was a _low_ blow, even for the Seps.

"None yet," he said, eyebrows lowering as the metallic footsteps started to be heard. "Jaina—"

"These guys are _scrap metal_," she said fiercely, somersaulting forward and blocking the first group of shots fired.

To her utter surprise, it wasn't battledroids attacking. The barrage was coming from at least twenty Super Battledroids. Struggling not to get too caught off guard, Jaina took several steps back, grimacing and deflecting all the shots she could. She slashed at the nearest one then sent it flying back towards another two standing nearby.

How could she have been so stupid, she thought as she ducked and rolled, springing upwards and slicing a droid in half from its torso to its head. The Seps wouldn't send mere battledroids to attack the Jedi stronghold. That would be ridiculous.

Jaina extended a hand and clenched a fist, then swung it towards the opposite wall. Four of the droids crashed against it and she smirked, still deflecting the shots with her other hand.

"It's always nice to see that you don't doze off _all_ the time during my lessons!" Obi-Wan exclaimed over the blasterfire. "At least I know you learn something from me!"

"Hey, that was just _once_, Master!" Jaina retorted sliding forward on the ground and hacking another droid neatly in half. "You know I listen to you, I even take down notes!"

"How do I know you're actually taking down notes when I'm too busy teaching you?" he shot back from her left, swinging a circle with his lightsaber and cutting off three pairs of legs.

"This is _me_ we're talking about, right?" Jaina asked wryly. "Here's some more proof!" She somersaulted, cutting a droids head off along the way, and when she landed, she gestured with two of her hands, swinging them together, and sent two droids colliding. Before they could've recovered, she grinned and slashed their heads off, then turned around to where her Master was cutting the last three droids.

"Took you long enough," she teased, crossing her arms.

Obi-Wan's opened his mouth to retort but his eyes widened in horror. "Jaina—" he leapt forward and slashed at something behind her and when Jaina whirled around, she saw the remains of a commando droid, its vibroblade mere centimeters away from her feet.

"_Oh_," she breathed. "I didn't see that. Sorry. Thanks, Master."

He held up his index finger at her face threateningly, and Jaina raised two innocent hands. "I already said to stay alert," Obi-Wan said crossly, rolling his eyes. "What will it take for you to actually _listen_ to me?"

"I am listening to you," Jaina said defensively, following him down the hallway to check for more droids. "And I _am_ alert. I just…happened to miss one."

"_Master Kenobi_," a voice suddenly echoed in the corridor.

"We're here, Master Windu," Obi-Wan replied curtly, lifting up his wrist comm.

"_Skywalker and his Padawan need help in the Docking Bay. Though neither of them will admit it_," Master Windu added irritably.

"First Knowledge Tower hangar?" Jaina asked, already beginning to quicken her pace.

"_Yes_," Windu replied. "_They're just above you, in the rooftop entrance. Go!_"

"We're on our way," Obi-Wan replied, cutting the link and bringing out his cable launcher. "No time to lose, come on."

Jaina followed, stepping into the shaft after her Master and feeling the wind blow against her face as she shot upwards. She sensed her Master somersault a meter above her then planted her boot on the side of the shaft and backflipped out the tunnel, her head barely missing the door frame. Jaina pocketed her cable launcher and touched her forehead tenderly.

"Close call," she murmured to herself. "I'll have to practice that more often."

They began running down the hallway as the sound of blasterfire and explosions grew louder. "That doesn't sound good," Obi-Wan muttered, extending his hand and Force-pushing the doors open.

Right in the middle of the chaos, Anakin and Ahsoka stood back to back, fending off any droid that got within a meter of the invisible perimeter they'd formed.

On one side of the hangar fought Soara Antana, graceful and efficient as ever, who was hacking away at any commando droid that got close to the row of Jedi Starfighters. Her Padawan, Callista Starr, one of Jaina's friends…or _enemies_…was shrinking behind a gunship, half-heartedly deflecting any shot that came her way.

Master Unduli and Barriss had the other corner completely covered, moving in complete sync as they cut down the droids nearest to them.

Jaina saw all this in mere seconds then followed her Master to the unprotected line of gunships, deflecting the flack as she sprinted.

"_Grenade_!" She exclaimed, as the tiny sphere came flying towards them. Jaina extended a hand and sent it sailing upwards where it wouldn't detonate within harm's way of the Jedi present.

"Wait," Obi-Wan yelled. "_Don't_—"

It set off, the blast almost knocking them off their feet, and sent the Delta 7Bs above their heads swinging violently.

"_Don't do that again!_" He exclaimed, easily blocking the clumsy, mechanical slash of a commando droid and its vibroblade. "Don't forget there are additional garages up there, not only will you destroy the ships, but you'll _crush_ us!"

"Sorry, Master, it was a reflex!" Jaina said swiftly, ducking and kicking at a droid as it lashed out at her head. "I...I forgot!"

"Remember this is the _Temple_," Obi-Wan continued loudly, over the blasts. Another commando droid came their way, and he stabbed through its control circuits easily.

"Believe me, I'll remember," Jaina muttered, sliding one hand into her belt as she deflected the fire with the other. "Master, I think I still have about five EMPs on me," she said, her palms sweaty as she pulled out the tiny grenades. "Is it safe to use them?"

"Should be all right," Obi-Wan replied, taking them out her hands. "Get ready."

He threw the droid poppers into the fray, and Jaina used the Force to guide their flight path towards the biggest groups of droids left. There was a loud _pop_, and soon the clanking of vibroblades and commandos as they fell to the ground echoed in the large hangar.

Obi-Wan tossed two this time, and they both focused on Force-pushing the EMPs to opposite sides of the room, also hitting two separate squads. Eventually only at least twenty-five droids remained, half their original number and Obi-Wan didn't waste a split second, tossing their last two poppers in the air.

"_Watch it!_" Ahsoka snapped at them as one went off close to her feet. "Check your aim!"

"Sorry!" Jaina said, grinning. The last of the commando droids collapsed to the ground. "Looks like we arrived just in time."

"We were doing perfectly fine on our own, thanks," Anakin said, deactivating his saber and planting his hands on his hips. The room went slightly darker, and he activated it again. "What makes you think we had any trouble?"

"Gee, Anakin, I don't know," Obi-Wan said wryly, gesturing at all the droids littered around the hangar. "Have there been any developments?"

"Not that we know of, no," Soara replied, walking towards them. "We still don't know what they're after."

"Sending this many droids here, it can't be something small," Luminara added, sighing. "My Padawan and I have been reassigned to the Halls of Healing downstairs. May the Force be with you."

Jaina smiled and nodded at Barriss as she followed her Master out the hangar, having met her at an earlier mission during the war.

"Maybe they're after the communications and command center?" Ahsoka asked uncertainly. "Practically all our strategies are there."

"Dormitories? But I can't think of any reason for them to want to go there," Callista said, frowning.

"I bet they're after the Archives," Jaina said, looking up abruptly.

"Yeah, sure," Callista retorted wryly. "Because they can _really_ drag millions of holobooks away in one day."

Jaina glared at her, then turned to the Masters who were deep in thought.

"We know they've only attacked Northern wings," Anakin said. "This tower and the Reassignment Quarter. The droids haven't touched the Reconciliation Quarter or the High Council's."

"So it's safe to assume they're after something nearby," Soara said.

"Unless it's all just a diversion while somebody slips in to the Southern wings," Obi-Wan said, hand subconsciously at his chin as it usually was while his mind worked. "We can't assume anything."

"_Attention, First Knowledge teams, attention_," Mace Windu's urgent voice abruptly erupted from all their comlinks simultaneously. "_The Separatists have overrun the sublevels. Repeat, the Separatists have overrun the sublevels. We need immediate_—"

Anakin scowled at his wrist comm as the line cut. "Those droids are _really_ asking for it."

* * *

"How're you holding up?" Ahsoka asked, almost casually, as they somehow ended back to back in the middle of the dark sublevels, their Master's held back by droids meters away.

They were in one of the deeper sublevels of the Jedi Temple, a large cavernous chamber and tunnel lined with stone statues of ancient Jedi. She had no idea what purpose this particular one served, but she'd only been in a Temple sublevel twice: during the obstacle course on Exhibition Day, and another time when she and Gaspard had been late for class and they'd stumbled upon a service corridor that led to the Archives.

"I'm…good," Jaina replied hesitantly, struggling to sound just as casual as she did. But the truth was she was getting tired. It had to be close to four in the morning now. Her heart was pounding, her breathing was shallow, and her head was beginning to throb with the overexertion. At this point, Jaina didn't feel athletic at all. "This is…fun."

"Sure, it is!" She scoffed wryly, ducking as Jaina swung a large circle above their heads and neatly slicing several heads off. "How many have you shut down already?"

Jaina back flipped above Ahsoka as she lowered to a crouch and swung her leg, somehow tripping the robust SBDs. "I…I lost count," Jaina said, halfheartedly.

"You can't possibly lose count of these tinnies!" Ahsoka said loudly, grinning and hopping atop one of the last few droids. This was one of the many things Jaina had grown to love about Master Anakin's insanely impetuous Padawan. She could make the direst of situations better with her _large _mouth. "I bet you just don't want to buy me another lunch at Dex's."

"In your dreams," Jaina retorted, stabbing the last droid right at the center. "I don't understand you, Ahsoka, but I have to say, you're only of the very few people who can loosen me up during a battle."

"That's what they all say," She said, smiling.

"Well, I wish I could agree with you," Callista grumbled, shoving the remains of a commando droid off herself from her awkward position on the ground. Jaina extended a hand to help her up but she ignored it. "Can I please take the turbolift back up to my dormitory now?"

"First of all, you'd have to use a cable launcher, there's still no power. And second of all, I'd love to see you ask our Masters that," Jaina said sarcastically, earning a snicker from Ahsoka.

"Hmph," Callista scowled at her then leaned sulkily across the wall beside the open turbolift shaft.

"Master Windu, we have cleared Sublevel Nine," Obi-Wan said into his comlink. "Repeat, Sublevel Nine of First Knowledge is clear."

"_Copy that, Master Kenobi_," Master Windu's voice echoed from her Master's wrist comm. "_Reinforcements have arrived, and the Chancellor's office has been made aware of the situation_."

"We'll remain here and make sure this portion of the Sublevels remains clear," Anakin said. "Let us know if anybody needs additional help."

"_Oh, we will_," he replied, cutting the comm.

Jedi Masters Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin emerged from one of the service hallways at the sides of the sublevel, their green lightsabers aloft. Master Fisto gave one look at the mess of droids on the floor and offered them his trademark grin. "I'm guessing we missed most of the fun down here?"

Jaina laughed and glanced at her Master, who returned the grin. "Late again, Master Fisto. As usual."

"Just when I thought this war had made me prompt," he replied wryly.

Jaina and Ahsoka inclined their heads in greeted at the newest Jedi to join their squad. There was no way the Seppies would get past them.

"You six cleared the sublevel in less than twenty minutes," Master Tiin said incredulous, as he gazed upon the wreckage.

"There were no obstacles this time, Master Tiin, and we didn't really need to worry about making a mess," Jaina murmured, smiling.

"I'm sure the cleaning droids will be very happy once this whole debacle is over," Soara said wryly. "Callista, move away from the shaft, you might fall in."

Jaina snickered; Callista rolled her eyes at her unspoken insult.

"They need more work to do anyway," Anakin said, grinning. "Temple's too immaculate that there's not much work for them. Those droids are getting a bit slow."

"Maybe you should tinker with them too, Master," Ahsoka teased, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe I will, Snips," he retorted.

Jaina almost laughed. The darkness creeping in made laughter difficult.

"Do we have any news on what the droids are after?" Obi-Wan asked, breaking the silence.

"Not yet," Master Tiin replied, sighing. "It could be anything. Could even be just a blow to our morale."

"I doubt it, I get the feeling they're after something," Jaina murmured. They all glanced over their shoulders where the marching sounds abruptly began to echo. "_They're back!_"

"We have the element of surprise with us this time," Obi-Wan said, eying the others. "Let's use it to our advantage. I say we get them from two separate fronts."

"Right," Anakin agreed swiftly. "You and Soara can attack them from here. Master Fisto, Master Tiin and I can come at them from behind the statues."

"Sure, leave _us_ with the two Padawans," Soara grumbled jokingly.

"_Hey_," Jaina whined dryly, raising her lightsaber as the other four disappeared into the darkness. "Ouch."

Callista rolled her eyes. "_Great_. Stuck with you again."

"Not like I'm happy about being stuck with you either!" Jaina retorted, taking a step next to her Master and deflecting the incoming shots from the front line of Super Battledroids. A large group of commando units followed. "Not _these_ guys again!"

"Maintain your focus, Jaina," Obi-Wan said sharply. "We can't let them break through!"

Jaina nodded, glancing back to where Master Soara and Callista held back a group of droids, Call's lightsaber moving almost five times as slow as her graceful, frighteningly efficient Master.

"Padawan, we need to cut through their lines," he ordered. "Outflank them, I'll take the center."

"Yes, Master!" Jaina said fiercely, already moving to the left near the turbolifts, lowering to a split as a commando swung for her head. She slashed at its legs then cart-wheeled back to her feet, stabbing at an SBD and Force-pushing another commando as it leapt for her head.

"_MASTER!_" Callista cried out, somehow separated from Soara as five commando droids cornered her in front of the lifts. "Help!"

Jaina rolled her eyes and scowled. "I got it!" She said to Soara, who was meters away, not even struggling to deal with the ten or so droids that were all around her. "Callista, get behind me!"

"I—can't—_WHOA!"_ Hands outstretched in a futile attempt to keep her balance, Callista slipped through the shaft, shoved by the five commando droids. Three of them jumped in after her, much to Jaina's dismay.

"Hang in there, Call!" Jaina yelled, leaping in after them. "I'm coming!"

"JAINA, _NO_—!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, but it had been too late. The other two had leapt into the shaft after Jaina, and they tossed a detonator up as they jumped.

Jaina planted her feet on the shaft and kicked at the last minute, collapsing on the ground as rubble flew in all directions, causing her to cough vehemently.

"_Master!_" She cried, rushing back to her feet and using the Force to fling pieces of the debris everywhere. There was no way she'd be able to clear the shaft. "Master! Kriff, this is bad…_Master Obi-Wan_! UGH Callista, you are _unbelievable!_ How you've managed to stay alive this long with the war, I will _never_ know!"

"Uh…Jaina?" Call's small voice said in the silence. Jaina whirled around to find her friend with her arms up, surrounded by the five droids.

Jaina growled angrily at the droids then blocked the first vibroblade. Her head was pounding, she was getting so sleepy. It had to be hours away from sunrise now, none of them had gotten any sleep all night, and had been fighting almost non-stop for hours.

Jaina held back a yawn and blocked the second strike from a commando on her left. She ducked as the one swung for her shoulders then jumped as the other slashed at her legs with the blade. They ended up hitting each other instead and Jaina backflipped away from them then kicked the first one down while stabbing at the other.

Feeling her aggravation rise with her exhaustion, Jaina raised a fist and sent the other two flying swiftly towards the nearest statue. She jumped atop the shoulders of the last one then somersaulted towards the two that were still recovering from the Force-push. After slicing their heads off, she hopped atop the statue's lightsaber, backflipped, then landed behind the commando squad's captain. She stabbed at its control panel then whirled away fiercely, almost glaring at Callista.

"Okay, here's what we need to do," Jaina said, mind working swiftly. "There's no time to waste. We need to find the other turbolift shafts on the opposite side of this quarter's sublevel. I have a feeling we'll run into some resistance, and in case that happens, we'll have to flee then outflank them with the element of surprise on our side. There's no way we'll be able to take them full on, we're going to have to strategize, I'll take the left, you to take the right, let's secure the perimeter first before we—"

"Wait!" Callista exclaimed. "Wait! Slow down! Why did they push me in the first place?"

"They're droids, destruction is kind of what they're programmed for," she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Droids don't follow you down a shaft," Callista growled. "I say somebody intentionally wanted to separate us from our Masters—"

"Really, I had no idea," Jaina snapped sarcastically. "This is exactly why we need to—"

"—wait here for our Masters to pick us up. Safest thing to do."

"_What?_" Jaina exclaimed. "That's utterly ludicrous. Not to mention counterproductive."

"Why?"

"Because!" She exploded, turning around to gaze at the darkness. "We can't just _sit_ here and do nothing!"

"I can," Callista said, sitting on the ground just to irritate her. "I can just wait right here. You just go blow something up, or cut it in half or whatever. Let me know how that goes. But I am _not_ going back to that battle."

"Now isn't the time to be a coward, Callista!" Jaina said fiercely, whirling around to glare at her friend. "The Separatists have taken _everything_ from us since the beginning of this war! They already stripped away our childhood, our friends, they've taken away _innocent lives_! Now they're about to take our _home_!"

"Shut up, can you just shut up?" Callista yelled abruptly, standing back up. "I'm sick of you thinking you're the only one who knows what's at stake here!"

"I _do _know what's at stake!" Jaina said icily. "And you can't blame me for wondering sometimes if you do too, it's not like I'm not the _only one_ that wonders. Everyone does! You NEVER cared about this war, you've always treated it so…so casually, but you know what, _it's not_! It's the utter opposite of casual! People are _dying_!"

"I do care!" She said, voice escalating. "Maybe not as much as you and your…your _obsession_! But I do care!"

"My…what?" Jaina demanded, flabbergasted. "You think this is an obsession? I watch people get blown up on almost a kriffing _daily basis_. Do you think I like that?"

"I think you do," Callista said calmly, glaring at her.

"Stop acting like you've got me all figured out, because you don't," Jaina snarled. "It's not an obsession. It's me trying to bring this kriffing war at least an _inch_ closer to an end. It's me doing my duty. Because if I don't, who will?"

"Just because my Master doesn't bring me on as many missions as yours, it doesn't mean I'm incapable," Callista yelled. "I'm not inferior to you, you know! I try my best too!"

"_I never said you were incapable or inferior to me!_" Jaina exclaimed. "Now you're putting words into my mouth!"

"You didn't have to say it," she hissed.

"You know what, I don't have the time for this," Jaina said, aggravated, as she gazed behind them, feeling the Force warning her. "I'm willing to give my life for _any_ single soul of the hundreds of thousands of people in this entire Temple, Callista. It's my duty…but I care about everyone, this is my _family_. I _will_ protect this Temple to the best of my abilities. I think it's time you asked yourself if you're willing to do the same."

Jaina gave her one last look then began sprinting forward, lightsaber held close to her body. She could sense every person completely _united_ in the entire ziggurat, could sense every Jedi fighting for more than their life and the lives of others, but their entire culture, their civilization, their…_everything_.

The Jedi Temple had been their beacon of hope for the past millenia, had been their stronghold against the dark.

The Separatists chose the wrong target. The Jedi would not stand for this.

Jaina saw the first squad of SBDs approaching her, their metallic armor reflecting her blue lightsaber. She should've felt fear; there were more than twenty of them. She'd used up all her EMPs. But she had something even better. Feeling the combined might and unity of every being in the Temple gave her strength.

She was not afraid.

Jaina leapt, avoiding the first few shots. She landed on her palms and flipped forward, kicking the nearest droid to the ground.

Jaina swiftly swung her lightsaber vertically downwards, slicing off its weapon arm then somersaulted atop the next one, stabbing her lightsaber into the control panel at its back. She back flipped as three began approaching her then swung her arms at the ceiling, sending them flying towards it.

Jaina deflected the next two incoming blasts back at the droids that shot them, then Force-pulled the one farthest away from her. She sliced it diagonally, then vertically, before Force-pushing its parts at the last droids standing.

Jaina stood at the center of the dark cavernous sublevel, breathing heavily. She wondered how the others were doing. She could practically see Master Garen and Gaspard, helping defend the largest Docking Bay Complex with their very lives, could see Master Anakin and Ahsoka, together a hurricane that no droid could possibly stop only a few floors higher.

She could feel Master Luminara and Barriss, together fending off anything and _everything_ that would get near the infirmary and the wounded. Masters Plo Koon and Aayla Secura were in the Reassignment Tower's Docking Bay, helping Master Siri and Jaina's best friend, Faithe, against at least sixty droids.

And somewhere, levels higher than where she stood now, Master Obi-Wan was fighting his way towards her, she could _feel it_. The Jedi gave her strength. They _would_ protect their stronghold, their home, with their lives.

Her heart burning with overexertion, Jaina tensed, feeling a sense of danger nearby. She raised her lightsaber in a defensive position, staring into the darkness ahead of her. Sweat tricked down her back. The only sounds were her shallow breaths.

Rapidly, the Force screamed to her in warning. Before she could have turned around, she felt a vicious blow against the back of her head.

Jaina stumbled forward, losing grip of her lightsaber, and whirled around to face the darkness. The emergency lights finally turned on, casting an eerie red glow on her surroundings, and standing in front of her was a fierce commando droid, the hilt of its vibroblade inches from where Jaina's head had been moments before.

She reached out to Force-pull her lightsaber but the droid struck again, and Jaina found she was barely able to roll out of the way. Before the droid could have blasted at her, it flew towards the ceiling, then to one wall then slid down the opposite one, sparks flying from its back.

Jaina spun around, searching for the source of the powerful Force push. Looking even more diminutive than she usually did, Callista stood, lightsaber ignited, hand outstretched, expression shocked.

"I—I didn't—" She stammered. "I didn't know I could do that…"

Jaina threw her lightsaber at the droid's neck then called it back to her palm, smiling wryly. "Well, it's comforting for me to know that all it takes for you to actually _fight back_ is me being on the ground about to get hacked into one of Dex's sliders."

Callista smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Really didn't know I could do that."

"Do what? _Push?_" Jaina looked at her incredulously. "Callista, you can do so much more than that. All you need to do is take life seriously, Master Soara can teach you so much more than just _pushing_."

"I know, I just…never mind, you wouldn't understand," Callista sighed and deactivated her saber. "Can we just get out of here?"

Jaina rolled her eyes and ignited hers. "Every single time someone tries to help you, you just push them away. It's aggravating."

"I don't need your help," she grumbled.

"Sure, you don't," She retorted then pointed at a small door nearby. "That leads to the service hallway the caretakers use to get to the Archives."

Callista looked at her. "How do you know?"

"Used it once, by accident," Jaina smiled briefly, reminiscing. "Gaspard and I were late to a class, and we stumbled upon it. Leads directly to the Archives."

"Well, that's…convenient," Callista murmured. "Let's go."

Before Jaina could've taken a step forward, something brushed her shoulder. She whirled around in alarm in time to see a hooded figure walk past her ominously.

Jaina raised her lightsaber at the figure, positioned aggressively. "_Who are you_?" She demanded, unable to think of anything better to yell. She stretched a hand in front of Callista protectively. "What do you want?"

"There's only one Master in the entire Jedi Council that still has an apprentice…can you guess who it is? Now I can do my job _and_ get my revenge…You don't recognize me, dearest Jaina?" The voice hissed silkily. "I came all this way for you and you don't who I am. How disappointing."

Jaina's heart thudded painfully in her chest. She felt as though her entire body had been reduced to a slab of ice, moving would be impossible, how could she possibly fight? "_Ventress_…"

"Very good," Dooku's maniacal assassin said mockingly, lowering her hood. "Your Master was placed on the Council recently, was he not? This is just too…_delicious_."

"What do you want from Master Kenobi?" Jaina demanded quietly, gesturing subtly at Callista to get behind a nearby statue and doing her best to _stall_.

She switched to a two-handed grip on her lightsaber as they circled each other, and surreptitiously switched on the direct line to her Master, praying to the Force that he would be listening.

* * *

The last of the droids fell to the ground with a clang and Obi-Wan released a breath he'd been holding for quite a while. "The sector's clear," he said, struggling to keep his voice even. Struggling not to destroy something. "Come on, we need to hurry."

"Obi-Wan, _slow down_!" Anakin said, sprinting forward, only a step behind his former Master. Ahsoka struggled to keep up. "We can't just rush in after them, you're the one who's always so patient, you should know why we need to stop and think!"

"You'll find I've learned to think while moving," Obi-Wan snapped, dashing down a dark staircase. The red emergency lights everywhere did not help the situation. "We need to—"

He stopped short, comlink beeping. "Jaina, are you there?" He exclaimed into it, halting in the middle of the corridor. "Padawan. Jaina!"

She either had the volume lowered, or was not listening, but the line had no response. Then, slowly, threateningly, a voice crept in.

"It's nothing personal, dear," the voice said. "I have a job to do…and I'm going to need you to help me…"

"You know as well as I do, that I'm not going to be helping you, Ventress," his Padawan snapped.

"_No_," Obi-Wan murmured, stopping for a split second before abruptly quickening his pace, leaping down an empty turbolift shaft, Anakin and Ahsoka, equal expressions of horror on their faces, right behind him. "_No, no, no, no, NO!_"

"Oh, but you have no choice," Ventress said quietly.

Obi-Wan planted his boot on the shaft and stumbled out the lowest doors, the lowest sublevel. His Padawan and Ventress had to be here. He ran through the chamber, which was now barely illuminated, and completely stopped, his heart racing. Coming from his comlink, now on full volume, was an ominous sound.

The activation of two lightsabers.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! I gave this whole invasion subplot a great amount of thought before I wrote it, but decided to push through with it anyway for the following reasons. I came across it on Wookieepedia a long time ago (you can find it under the article Coruscant Insurrection/Invasion of Coruscant) and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. I found an invasion of the Temple so intriguing.

In the canon version (at least what I found in my research), Dooku himself was present and attempted to destroy the Archives. I was originally going to retain Dooku's presence, but thought it would be too much to pit him against someone as inexperienced as Jaina. Their first meeting will take place later on, when she's older.

I decided to make it Ventress instead because I believe she isn't scary enough in TCW, and I'd like to revive some of that fear I know she can instill. Also, I knew how she and Obi-Wan always clash, their battles become almost personal during the war, and they become obsessed with each other at one point or another.

Lastly, this subplot serves as a tie-up with the TCW show. You'll see why later on, but remember, this takes place _in between_ Seasons 1 and 2, after the Senate Hostage Crisis, after the Republic Heroes Wii game and the Battle of Behpour, but before The Battle of Felucia we see in Holocron Heist. So yeah, enjoy!

By the way! I put up a blog that will have a loooot of fun things about Blurred Destinies such as pictures, some spoilers, polls, dramatis personaes, scans of my two-year old notes and outlines and etc. Should be fun! You can find this blog on my author profile page, just click on the web button, should be fun! You can also leave me messages there and I will surely get back to you! Just leave your name :))

**Shout-Outs!**

**Indy0109: **Thank you! I will again soon!

**ClassicalBrunette:** Thank you! I really enjoyed writing the conversation between those two, it showed how much she's grown as a person since the beginning and how much their friendship has evolved. Yay heart-to-hearts! OMG. NO WAY. If I was there, I probably would have randomly inserted myself into their conversation HAHAHA! Kay maybe I should go to law school now hmmm =)) She'll be using it a lot in the future! ;) Thanks for your support! I love replying to your reviews! =)) Will be updating soon!

**Stabbythings:** Oh really? :O Well, they're in the sublevels now, maybe they'll find the meadows HAHAHA

**Lady Gaga: **Yup! Jedi birthdays must be awesome =))

**Littlelionluvr:** Hahaha yup! It's always challenging but greatly rewarding to veeeeery slowly show how the galaxy, the Republic and most especially the people are changing with a war of this scale. I definitely do not approve of the Core Worlds Security Act, but I think it's the little things like that that made Palpatine's takeover so easy :))

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** HEHEHE I love cliffys! :D Yup, I love writing those conversations with the two of them too! xD They just put the Core Worlds Security Act into effect, so yes, the highest security teams are indeed on Coruscant, that's what makes this all so mindboggling for them O_O It's not as large scale as the one we see in Revenge of the Sith, this one was based more on stealth because they are trying to take something…This minor subplot served as something that can connect my story with The Clone Wars TV show, and ever since I saw an article about this invasion on Wookieepedia, I just haaaaaad to write it =)) Thank you!

**XCalliopeX:** Hi It's Angie! I made an account now, but IDK if I'm going to write stories, Because I suck. But we'll see. Anyway, I love this Chapter, it was Awsome! I can't wait for the next! Update Soon! Peace out!

**Guywhosings28:** Oh gosh, thank you! I have so much fun writing their relationship, I've always wanted this story to be about how the war is affecting them, a Master/Padawan team but also a teenage girl and her teacher, instead of just mindless battles and politics (although I do love writing those too =)))

I know right! She had an old one, but old ones get boring =)) A Starfighter tinkered by Anakin has got to be the besssst birthday gift ever =)) Thanks!

Thank you! As the story goes by, politics are going to become impossible to avoid, so we'll be seeing a lot more of those Senators and other bills in the future :D I will!


	32. The Lone Vanguards

**A/N: I've been awaiting the day I could post this chapter almost as eagerly as Ventress awaited the duel...HAHAHA. Enjoy!**

**Amongst the four main aisles of the Archives were Bronzium sculptures of some of the most famous Jedi Masters known to the Order; displayed at intervals along the stacks on stone pedestals. Likenesses of Masters Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Saesee Tiin, and Dooku were only a few of the many depicted.**

**-Wookieepedia**

Chapter 31 – The Lone Vanguards

Jaina stumbled back into a nearby statue, alarmed at the strength behind Ventress's blades. Dooku's assassin had already been a threat before, on the Naboo moon of Ohma-D'un, on Cestus, on Christophsis, where she'd only glimpsed her. She'd been dangerous on Teth, when they'd dueled for the first time. But now…now, Ventress was _deadly_.

"Callista, run!" Jaina yelled, parrying a strike for her legs and barely managing to bring her blade to her shoulder to block a slash from Ventress's second blade. "Get help! _GO!_"

"Yes, Callista," Ventress purred, cackling quietly. "Bring dear Master Obi-Wan here; he's exactly the man I need!"

"GO!" She repeated, gasping as she recovered from a painful kick to her ribs. "Inform…the Masters…of the…saboteur…" Jaina panted, blocking more carefully-aimed swings and somersaulting above Ventress. Amidst the fierce strikes, Jaina sensed cold calculation.

Ventress was only aiming to _disarm_.

"Callista, tell them _I'm fine_!"

"You're fine?" Ventress exclaimed wryly, mockingly, as she elbowed her in the shoulder when she tried to stab at her knee. "I'm sure even Master Kenobi can tell when he's being lied to!"

Jaina felt her ire rise and used the momentum of the hit to flip forward, kicking Ventress in the chin before she landed. "You're one to talk," she snapped, deciding to switch to the offensive and slashing at her left arm. "Deciding to attack the Temple? How foolish can you Seps get?"

"Maybe if you stepped back a little, you'd notice that attacking the Temple was never our only goal," Ventress said, barely managing to hit away a swift stab Jaina had aimed for her shoulder. "Maybe we're after something bigger…something I'm sure you, a tiny, insignificant little Padawan, wouldn't understand."

Jaina heard footsteps echoing faintly in the dark hallway and knew then that Callista was gone. The dim red emergency lights cast a disturbing glow on the contours of Ventress's face as she smirked.

"Every single being in this entire precinct will protect the Temple till their last breath," Jaina snarled. "You've made a huge mistake!"

Ventress's two blades were still connected and Jaina felt her resolve and courage rise as she brought her own blade from behind her back to the front of her chest, neatly blocking two fatal swings.

Her Master had given her special training for this specific predicament. Since their first encounter on Teth, he'd been training her particularly for double bladed lightsabers and the Jar'Kai technique, because he knew, he _somehow _knew, that she'd be meeting Ventress again.

Jaina controlled the duel for precious minutes, maintaining the offensive despite her dedication to Soresu. Now was not the time for defense.

As Master Obi-Wan always said, sometimes the best defense was a swift and decisive offense. Luckily she'd begun studying Forms II and IV under her Master as well since the beginning of her apprenticeship.

Jaina slashed for her left knee then aimed for her right, Ventress neatly parrying both. She jumped over a low swing aimed for her legs then somersaulted above Ventress's head a split-second after she landed, slashing for her head while she was in the air. Ventress lowered to a crouch then flipped forward, avoiding the blow.

Jaina scowled, aiming a stab for her left shoulder then fluidly swung for her left hip then her right knee. Ventress parried each blow before she'd fully made them.

She'd been training, that much was for sure, Jaina realized bitterly. This wasn't good. Not at all.

Jaina knew she had to keep a clear goal in mind in order to succeed; she had to stall until the Masters got here, and prevent Ventress from wreaking havoc around the Temple. That was the goal.

The minutes passed by slowly and Ventress started driving her back, down the pitch dark service corridor that led to the Archives.

Ventress's double-bladed lightsaber hit the walls in the narrow hallway, causing sparks to fly in every direction. Jaina frowned. Fighting in this confined space was even more difficult and exhausting than out in the vast sublevel. Deciding to take a dangerous risk, Jaina deactivated her lightsaber and back-flipped, then cartwheeled into a hallway to her left, using the darkness to her advantage.

Her chest was burning, her body shaking from their literally non-stop effort to protect the Temple. It had been…close to five hours now? Jaina had no idea, she wasn't counting.

She hadn't gotten any sleep. She'd spent the day before sparring and practicing her alchaka meditations in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. She'd skipped dinner to continue practicing. Her stomach made a loud, gurgling noise.

This was _really_ bad.

Jaina lowered to a crouch, pushing herself flat against the wall, and fumed at herself for not being able to quiet her labored breathing or her stomach. Jaina listened as Ventress deactivated her lightsaber. The silence was deafening.

Eyes wide, she inhaled deeply and stopped her breathing completely as she heard the Sith acolyte slowly walk past the corridor she was crouching in.

The seconds passed by painfully slowly, each heartbeat seeming to boom in the silence.

The footsteps stopped, Ventress unmoving somewhere nearby, listening for the tiniest sound. Jaina closed her eyes. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead.

Ventress stepped forward.

Jaina slowly stood up, refusing even to let out a small exhale of relief, then began walking down the dark corridor she was in, senses on high alert.

_Your eyes can deceive you_, Master Obi-Wan would repeat over and over again, before slipping a blindfold over her eyes during velocities. _Don't trust them._

Although she didn't disagree with her Master, sometimes being left blind in the dark was a huge disadvantage. With the Force, she could still see, but there was just something so incredibly...unnerving about dueling in the dark.

The Force screamed to her in warning.

Jaina cried out, stumbling back as Ventress's blade abruptly appeared in front of her from out of nowhere. She'd missed the slash for her shoulder by centimeters, and was barely able to parry the next slash for her knee. Ventress violently extended a hand and Jaina found herself flying out the corridor and slamming into one of the Archives' many consoles. Her head throbbed painfully.

The blastdoors behind Ventress slid closed.

Jaina guessed the emergency lights in the sector hadn't been fixed yet; the entire library was lit only by the dim, blue holobooks. She stood defensively with her lightsaber in front of her torso, her mind racing as she thought of her next move.

"You've got nowhere to run," Ventress hissed. "What's the matter? Tired already?"

"Not even close," Jaina retorted, abruptly using the Force to fling the chair at her while rushing forward to land a blow.

_Brute force, my young Padawan_, Master Obi-Wan's voice said in her head. _At the end of the day, it is _brute force_ that will give you an advantage over a fighter like Ventress. It can be a long shot, we don't know how hard she has been training, however wielding two lightsabers for the Makashi style often makes one vulnerable when it comes to a strong offense._

Jaina put all her weight behind her blade as she slashed for Ventress's hip, then swung for her forearm before she could have recovered. Ventress blocked both blows easily, then extended a hand and sent Jaina flying back at the same console. Her lightsaber fell out of her grip and rolled towards a bronzium bust several _meters _away.

_Well, Master, it would appear Ventress has been working out_, Jaina thought wryly, hopelessness threatening to creep in. _Okay. New plan…_

"I'm getting bored, you know," Ventress said, slowly, menacingly walking towards her. "Your Master has high hopes for you, and _this_ is all you can do? Disappointing."

Jaina jumped above a low swing then concentrated fiercely as she landed atop Ventress's long hilt. She kicked and somersaulted above her head while simultaneously Force pulling the console's chair at the hilt. She landed behind Ventress in time to see the long hilt splitting into two before flying out of her grip.

"Sorry," Jaina said, forcing a polite smile at Ventress as she fumed, her lightsaber hilts almost as far away as Jaina's. "Odd thing is I can say the same about you. Although I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more from Dooku's little…_sidekick_."

Ventress let out a furious yell then sent one of the bronzium busts flying towards her, followed by the chair and a large number of holobooks.

Jaina swiftly raised both her hands and sucked in a breath, deepening her focus. The bronzium bust and the holobooks stopped midway for a split second before being set safely on the ground. Jaina then Force-pushed the chair and two more from other nearby consoles towards Ventress. She jumped towards a nearby shelf then hopped to the one across it, then back to the original one before flipping atop it.

"I have the high ground, Ventress," Jaina yelled. "Don't try it!"

Ventress smirked, and the three chairs along with twenty or so holobooks rose from the ground ominously. "_Fool_."

They flew towards her with dangerous speed. Jaina swung her hand from left to right swiftly, sending the holobooks back towards Ventress, then spun around and gestured with her other hand diagonally downwards, abruptly changing the direction of two of the three chairs.

While Ventress struggled to call her lightsaber to her palm in time, Jaina kicked the last chair upwards before it could have hit her, then whirled around and also Force-pushed it at Dooku's acolyte.

Jaina leaped off the shelf and landed lightly, calling her lightsaber to her palm. Ventress stood unmoving several meters in front of her, her eyes glinting with fury.

She tensed, igniting her lightsaber.

From the corner of her eye, Jaina spotted a large, heavy holobook now coming her way. Jaina whirled around and hit it away with her arm, then felt a throbbing pain in the back of her head as another one hit her.

She turned around to see where it had come from but stumbled forward as a chair hit her in her lower back. She looked at Ventress, who still remained unmoving, as objects all around the Archives began levitating off the ground at her command.

Jaina raised her lightsaber. "_Kriff_."

The holobooks came first, coming at her with alarming speed, their sharp ends almost as dangerous as knives now. Jaina deactivated her lightsaber and raised both her hands, eyes closed in concentration. The holobooks stopped in midair then dropped, but abruptly the chairs followed. Jaina somersaulted over the first one, narrowly dodged the second one, then just barely Force-pushed the third.

Before she could have ignited her weapon, Ventress was suddenly in her face, hand extended. Jaina's hands flew to her throat as it began to close, though no visible force was choking her.

"I've had enough of this," Ventress growled, closing her fist tighter. "You're going to do as I say, Jedi, whether you like it or not."

Jaina lowered to her knees, gasping for breath. Her head was throbbing painfully and tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She looked up at Ventress, clutching at her throat but still struggling not to display any fear. "What...do you...want?"

Ventress raised her other hand and Jaina was raised to an agonizing standing position, her heart working furiously with the lack of oxygen. Her head continued to swim.

"Like I said earlier," Ventress said, now smirking, her face only inches away. "I need a favor."

Jaina scowled in disgust and closed her eyes, stomping down on her ferocious pain. She blindly kicked at Ventress's torso and dropped to ground with a thud as she recoiled. Jaina clumsily stumbled to her feet then staggered to the nearest console before back-flipping towards a shelf. She used the Force to jump and propel herself to the second floor.

Still gasping for breath, Jaina dove behind the nearest shelf and remained on the ground, waiting for the slightest footstep. Her heart was pounding painfully, her neck still literally burning from the Force choke. She pushed herself against the shelf and closed her eyes, running out of tactics.

She needed _help_.

"You're all alone here, Jaina, dear," Ventress said suddenly, _pleasantly_, her mocking voice mere meters away.

Jaina pushed her fingers against her eyes until they hurt, ashamed to find moisture gathering at the corners. She _absolutely_ couldn't let her emotions get the better of her or Ventress would use them to her advantage too. And right now, Ventress did not need any more advantages.

"That's right," she said, this time her voice a low, dangerous whisper. "The librarian is...resting in her quarters. The guards have been locked out and will need more time to get back in because from what I know, the blast doors in this place are pretty thick."

"What have you done with Madame Nu?" Jaina snarled, then quickly pushed a palm to her mouth, gasping. She'd fallen into the trap.

"Nothing," Ventress replied, her voice dripping with satisfaction. She was getting nearer. "But by all means, Jaina, continue talking to me, it's so interesting holding a conversation with you..."

The agonizing sound of Ventress's footsteps abruptly stopped, and a loud beeping engulfed the space they were in.

"Yes, my Master?" Ventress said into her comlink, her voice clearly annoyed. Jaina didn't move a muscle.

"Ventress," Dooku barked, even more aggravated than his apprentice. "Have you taken what I have asked you to already?" He demanded.

"Not yet, my Master," she replied, sounding slightly embarrassed. "I'm close to capturing the Padawan of a Council member, once I've got her—"

"Do _not_ use this assignment for your own petty obsessions, Ventress!" Dooku said on the comlink, his voice deadly. "The time for vengeance is not now! If you do not get me what I need, my own Master will send those Bounty Hunters that took the Senate hostage to accomplish the mission! Ventress, failure is _not_ an option."

"I shall report soon, Master, once I have it," Ventress said resolutely, and there was another beep as the communication link was terminated. She started walking forward again.

Jaina needed to inform her Master of this later. Assuming she survived.

Jaina, eyes still closed in fear and in concentration, subtly moved a hand, drawing courage and strength from the Force. A pair of holobooks on the other side of the second floor fell from their shelf.

Ventress's footsteps stopped, and Jaina's eyes slid open, her heart now pounding with resolve. She gestured with her hand again, and another pair of holobooks fell to the ground.

The sound of steps echoing against the marble floor got softer and softer, until Jaina was certain Ventress was a good distance away. She blew out a soundless breath then began moving slowly and quietly backwards, down the opposite hall from where Ventress had gone.

She was on the second floor of the First Hall now, where all the manuscripts on philosophy and history were. She'd come here countless times before for homework in her different classes, knew the arrangement of the Stacks here by heart.

Except now, the warmth she usually felt when in the Archives had disappeared, had been replaced with the chill of a fear that was very real. The Archives had always been one of Jaina's favorite places in the entire Temple since she'd arrived as a baby. Now the entire library was filled with ominous shadows and empty hallways — corridors she desperately wished were packed with Jedi to help her.

Something touched her in the back and Jaina started, whirling around and almost hitting a nearby console. In the darkness stood a tall and imposing statue of an ancient Jedi, lightsaber held high, other hand easily levitating a small object. Jaina blew out a long breath, heart racing.

When she was sure Ventress was no longer nearby, she turned around and dashed down the hallway, towards the Analysis Rooms where she hoped to find even just a droid that might be able to assist.

The door at the end of the hall was half-open, and was engulfed with almost complete darkness without the emergency lights or the holobooks. Jaina ignited her lightsaber and stepped inside, eyes wide, chest pounding.

"Is there anyone here...?" She whispered, glancing from left to right at the sterile environments where all the analysis droids and their equipment functioned. She knew her Master had come here before the outbreak of the Clone Wars to research on a dart used to kill Senator Amidala's would-have-been assassin. The dart turned out to have belonged to Jango Fett, whose face was now on every single clone trooper at their command. Jaina shook her head, forcing herself to focus. Now was not the time for thinking. "Master Nu...? Anybody?"

"I apologize, but the Analysis Wing is currently experiencing some technical difficulties," an SP-4 analysis droid said abruptly, startling Jaina with its round photoreceptors on the other side of the glass. "Please return later when we have been able to—"

"It's not just the Wing, it's the entire Temple," Jaina interrupted. "Listen, I need your help, what happened to Master Nu, is she okay? Do you happen to have a comm that isn't affected by the loss of power?"

"No, I'm afraid we do not, and we have not seen Madame Librarian here all night," SP-4 said, as his partner, JN-66 also came to the glass window. The darkness continued to engulf her blue saber. "I overheard another droid say that she was locked inside her quarters."

"But she's all right?" Jaina prompted.

"She is alive," JN-66 said.

"What happened to the guards on duty here?" Jaina asked, disturbed by the reply. She'd always been so fond of Master Nu. But she couldn't afford to worry now. "Why isn't there anyone assigned to protect the Archives?"

"The Jedi Masters assigned here earlier were reassigned, and the blast doors were sealed as soon as they left."

"Reassigned...?" She repeated, eyes lowering to the ground. "Ventress. They must have been able to capture part of the communications centre on the First Knowledge Quarter...She reassigned the guards and sealed the blast doors...So, you're telling me that _nobody _is here right now?"

"Well," SP-4 said, and he gestured at something behind Jaina. "She is."

Jaina whirled around and saw Dooku's assassin, lightsabers both ominously raised at the sides of her face, expression a mixture of rage and _excitement_.

She smiled at her. "Found you."

Jaina cried out and quickly brought her lightsaber horizontally in front of her face, blocking both Ventress's slashes aimed at both her shoulders. She kicked at Ventress's torso then aimed a slash at her head then her neck.

Jaina somersaulted above Ventress and began moving back outside the Analysis Wing, for fear of destroying the sterilized environments. The Temple was already battered enough.

Ventress maintained a fierce offensive now, making impossible for Jaina to strike again. This woman had already killed so many Jedi, how in the Nine Hells would she possibly survive this battle?

_Remember, my young apprentice_, Obi-Wan had said during their latest velocity, _emotions._

_Emotions?_ She had asked then. _I do not understand, Master. _

_During a duel, _emotions_ are your worst enemy, it's not just your opponent that you should be wary of._

_How?_ She continued asking, still somewhat confused. In his lifetime, he'd already faced two Sith, had already defeated one. She was determined to learn everything she could from him.

_Fear_, he replied simply, pointing his saber at her chest. _Fear very easily slips in during a battle; it slips in so quickly that you don't even notice it. After fear, hopelessness follows. And once you've reached that, you will find, my Padawan, that it will be very easy for your adversaries to defeat you._

Jaina parried a slash for her right arm and stumbled back, gasping, as Ventress kicked at her solar plexus. Her Master had told her of the bad effects of hopelessness, but he hadn't mentioned what to do when it already _began_ to creep in.

Ventress whirled around and kicked Jaina in the chin as she recoiled from the first one. Eyes watering, head throbbing, Jaina stumbled back, almost completely losing her balance. Ventress struck her against the cheek and she staggered to a nearby shelf, gasping in pain. Jaina pushed herself off her battered knees, feeling a bruise forming on her face.

Ventress got into a position suggesting she was about to kick again and Jaina ducked sideways as she did, grabbing her leg and attempting to twist it. Ventress howled. She slashed blindly at Jaina in her pain, barely missing her.

Jaina blocked what she thought was the millionth of Ventress's swings, this time aimed for the back of her knee, then found herself precariously pushed against the railing of the second floor, dangerously close to falling off. Jaina Force-pushed Ventress back, giving her the split second she needed to backflip to the first floor.

Jaina landed quietly and dove behind a nearby bronzium bust, breathing heavily.

"You're going to have to stop running eventually, Jaina, dear," Ventress taunted from the second floor. "You're going to have to face me."

Jaina shut her eyes, on the verge of crying out in her frustration. She leaned her head against the bust then slid her eyes open again, thinking furiously. Her mind blanked as she read what was on the pedestal of the bust.

_Qui-Gon Jinn. A wise and faithful member of the Jedi Order, Master Jinn's compassion and courage was greatly admired by all. _

_Trained three Padawans. Perished in the Battle of Naboo at the blade of a Sith Lord._

Jaina raised her gaze to the face of Master Obi-Wan's bearded mentor, his clear eyes keen and intelligent, incredibly…_penetrating_. So that was where Master Obi-Wan got it.

She'd heard so much about Master Jinn, most of it not even from her own Master, since she never had the courage to ask him about his late teacher.

Jaina wondered why she hadn't seen this before then realized that she hadn't had the time to look through all the busts found around the entire first floor of the Archives. This was the man who'd trained Master Obi-Wan.

Master Obi-Wan, who continuously put his life in danger for the safety of others. Who had engraved in her heart that the innocent came first, that service to the galaxy was what every Jedi was born to do. That it was during the times of greatest peril that the Jedi Code _had_ to be followed most crucially.

_There is no emotion, there is peace._

She held the inanimate statue's gaze, feeling as though her fears were tangibly being buried underneath stern resolve. Others were depending on her. She needed to set aside her anxieties, her feelings of hopelessness, her utter exhaustion, and put _them_ first.

Jaina knew she was in grave danger. She knew, as she heard the slow, deliberate footsteps approaching, that there was little chance she'd be victorious.

But she thought of the hundreds of lives she cared about, lives that were also in great jeopardy.

Master Anakin. Ahsoka. Gaspard. The intimidating Master Windu. Master Yoda, who was mocked by some, yet loved by all.

Master Gallia and her quiet wisdom. Master Luminara. Barriss. Master Tiin and his unrivaled brilliance in the skies. Master Mundi. Master Koon. Master Fisto and his famous grin. Faithe. Ximea. Master Soara. Even Callista. Master Siri, who Jaina always definitely enjoyed spending time with; Master Siri's lightsaber skills were able to shut even her Master up. Her Master.

Every second Ventress spent in the Temple put Master Obi-Wan in danger. And that…_that_ was just utterly _unacceptable_. She had to dig her fears into a deep hole, even just for the coming moments, and help protect the people she cared about.

It was with that thought that Jaina found her strength.

She stepped out from behind the bust.

To Jaina, there were only two people left in her world, Ventress, who was the Separatists' single front line _against_ the Temple, and herself, the guardian _protecting_ it. She was alone. But so was Ventress.

Ventress stood a meter away, cackling in a low, menacing voice. Her eyes glinted with exhilaration, the way a gundark's eyes flashed as it closed in on its prey.

Jaina twirled her saber and pointed it at Ventress, hilt held across from her face, other arm extended with two fingers pointing at her opponent as she aimed. This offensive position was one her Master saved for his most dangerous adversaries. "Ventress. I'm going to say this politely one last time. You have five seconds to _leave _this Temple."

Ventress grinned at her fiercely and took a few steps forward. "Not a chance."

Jaina raised her blade resolutely, blocking the first strike. She swung her blade downwards, causing Ventress's to hit the ground, then ducked as she slashed at her head. Jaina parried a blow to her ankle then leaped atop the hilt, planting her hands on Ventress's shoulders simultaneously, and flipped backwards, attempting to make her lose her balance.

Ventress screamed in her rage as she fell backwards, losing grip of one of her sabers. Jaina sent it rolling far away into the darkness with a powerful Force push. Ventress rose to her feet and moved at her faster now, her fury driving her.

But like her Master said, emotions were the worst enemy in a battle. Except when it was the opponent who was engulfed in them. Emotions became an advantage.

Jaina winked at Ventress as they crossed blades, faces mere inches apart. Ventress made the same enraged noise and drove her back, now moving twice as fast as she had before.

But now the moves were careless, sloppy. This _might_ actually work.

Jaina leaned forward and spread her legs to keep her balance as Ventress Force-pushed her back several feet. She blocked the next incoming blows until she felt the Force telling her to take her chance.

Jaina rolled sideways on the ground as Ventress slashed at her head vertically downwards. She stood up abruptly at the dark acolyte's back then outstretched a hand, sending her stumbling to the ground towards a console. Her lightsaber slid out of her grasp.

Ventress reached out to grab it, but Jaina kicked it away, her own blue blade pointed directly at her.

"Asajj Ventress, under Article XIV of the Jedi Temple jurisdiction against invasion and assault, you," Jaina grinned, despite her labored breathing, "are under arrest."

Ventress glared at her with infuriated eyes, utterly fuming. Suddenly, she smiled and started cackling. "I don't think so."

Jaina felt a surge of danger in the Force and whirled around, only worsening the blow intended for her back. The MagnaGuard's electrostaff struck her squarely in the abdomen, sending her staggering to the ground, limbs flailing, teeth gritting, unable to hold back an aghast scream.

Jaina convulsed, lightsaber hilt falling straight into Ventress's grasp. The staff had been set for stun, and Jaina found herself dangerously close to unconsciousness. Two other MagnaGuards and five Commando droids appeared from behind a nearby shelf.

Jaina groaned, struggling to bear her agony in silence. "Ventress," she spat, furious, "you…_cheated_."

Ventress let out a low snicker, lowering to a crouch next to her slumped, twitching form. "I always get what I want," she whispered into Jaina's ear, hauling one of her arms over her shoulder and ruthlessly shoving her to a sitting position on the nearest chair.

She slid a hand from Jaina's shoulder down to her wrist painfully slowly, making the hair at the back of her neck stand. Finally, Ventress lifted Jaina's wrist comlink and gave her a mockingly compassionate look. "You don't mind if I use this, do you? After all, you _do_ owe me a favor."

Jaina's eyes widened. "No—don't—!"

"Dearest Master Kenobi," Ventress interrupted, speaking pleasantly into the wrist comm, "I believe I have something of yours."

There was no reply, and Jaina shamefully found unshed tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. Her throat constricted. She was angry, she was worried, she was exhausted and most of all, she was _disappointed _in herself.

She had failed.

Jaina forced herself to swallow the pang in her throat away, simultaneously digging all her perilous emotions in a hole. Now was _not_ the time for those.

There was no reply for several moments then suddenly Master Obi-Wan's voice filled the quiet library, powerful, frightening and _dangerous_. "_What do you want?_"

"I want to meet you face to face at the Archives," Ventress replied evenly, smirking. "By all means, take all the time you need to get here, however…"

Jaina cried out, caught utterly off guard as the staff struck her on her back, sending energy racing down her veins. Her palms were white as she tightly clutched the bottom of the seat to keep herself from shaking.

"You're going to be hearing _that_ every three minutes because I'm rather…bored. So I'd hurry if I were you."

Disoriented and distressed as she was, Jaina shuddered as Ventress slowly slid two fingers down her bruised cheek.

"Your Padawan's clock is ticking."

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys! Hope the connection between this and Season 2 of TCW is slightly clearer. We all know they're after the Holocron but the characters can't find _that_ out. **

**Have to say, this particular chapter was definitely one of the hardest to write, so I hope it was okay! The ****most important**** thing for me when I was writing this was showing the transition of Jaina's emotions – from resolute and **_**slightly**_** angry to fearful, as she realizes just how frightening Ventress can be, to just plain unafraid and brave, as she fully understands exactly what is at stake. Those were the three "steps"/levels I really wanted to emphasize in the chapter. ****Lightsaber duels are things we see in the films and the TV show all the time, that's why I wanted to focus more on writing what goes on **_**inside**_** her head while she's fighting. That's something we can't really see in the films.**

**Hope you guys liked this one! Trust me, A LOT of thought (in fact **_**too much**_** I think HAHAHA) went into this chapter. I really worked hard to even just _attempt_ to balance what was in her head with what was actually happening. And I wanted to have a lightsaber fight, a fist/foot fight, and a Force fight, so trying to manage all those was admittedly, very difficult.**

**I'll be posting again soon! ;) Cliff-hangers drive ME nuts too, trust me! Tiny spoiler: each and every event in this story since its beginning, from the tiniest problem to the largest crisis, are all building up to something that's going to be happening in the future. It's really, seriously _building up_. And this subplot, short as it will be compared to the previous arcs, will actually play a big role in the whole "building up" thing. Although that won't be seen for a while xD**

**Oh, and another thing. I dunno if you guys noticed, but there were a couple of RotS "tributes" in this chapter :D One of Obi-Wan's famous lines, and his well-known pose before dueling Grievous on Utapau. I just had a marathon recently and thought it'd be fun to put those in!**

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**Shout-Outs!**

**Guywhosings28:** Hope this duel was good enough for you! The action isn't over yet, that's for sure ;)

I want to be a Jedi so freaking badly, it's not healthy! =)) Jaina's unyielding loyalty to the Jedi can be both a good and a bad thing in her personality. Definitely plan on exploring the good and bad effects further in the near future xD Ish, Callista's a complex little creature =)) Hope the duel was okay!

**MrPowell:** Thank you! Those two are always terrible difficult and excruciating to balance, it's so tough hahaha. Thanks! I really appreciate your comments and your support!

**XWalkingShadowX:** Omg I just realized that in the previous chapter, I accidentally deleted my reply instead of your review, I never got to reply to it, sorry! Thanks for your support as usual, Angie! You know I love your questions just as much, if not more, than reviews! I love answering them! Call and Jaina are not quite friends, but not quite enemies either. Callista's so complex hahaha.

This showdown with Ventress is definitely going to be one of the things in Jaina's life that will affect her personality and her decisions even in the far future. This is why I write these subplots, each and every event is building up to "something". With that, Callista knows Jaina's been affected, and although there's always going to be that jealousy, I think there's also some pity. I don't know for sure, the perspectives of BD are always going to be Jaina's and Obi-Wan's, never Callista's, so I can't say for sure, but I think on some level, Callista pities her because of all she's going through and all she will continue to go through. So there's jealousy, but there's also pity. Like I said, she's complex :)) I haven't decided yet on Soara's fate so, we'll see! ;)

**Littlelionluvr:** Thanks! Definitely, I fell in love with this minor subplot since the day I came across it on Wookieepedia. Me too! Especially with the first two episodes of Season 3, she's just plan creepy! Thank you, I've been so scared about writing her so thank you so much!

**Stabbythings:** Thank you so much! I'll be updating real soon!

**Indy0109:** Ohhh gosh, thank you so much! That means so much to me it's insane! Throughout the story, I really want to balance seductive scary (Ventress) with savage, merciless killer (Grievous) so that I can have the two types of frightening. Ventress is definitely seductive scary hahaha. Thank you! I do want to make her scary! I think she isn't scary enough sometimes on the show. Thank you so much for that! Oh, my gosh, that is really touching! It's comments like these that make writing very much worth it, no matter how nuts it drives me sometimes =)) That means everything to me, thank you so much!

**Charliebrown1234: **Oh, wow =)) Well, I'm glad you stayed! Exciting as Zigoola was, everything is just going to keep building up, it's like a giant staircase! =)) The characters are definitely going to get more and more complex, sooo complex!, and it's gonna be just plain exhilarating. Yes, I do care about Star Wars! :D Hehe, my life would be empty without George Lucas's brilliant creation. Awwww gosh, thank you so much! Thank yous are getting so overused here already but honestly, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! The characters are almost alive to me now, with the past years I've spent writing this story so fleshing them out is really rewarding, especially more so with reviews like this. I just feel a teenage girl fighting in a war for her life, her loved ones and her very beliefs needs a story to be told, but yes, omg it's definitely part of my life now hahaha. Thank you! I'd love to do that one day! I will, and I'm very, supremely, utterly, sincerely happy you're staying with BD! I'll keep on writing as long as there's even just one person out there reading!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** Haha, that's all right! Thanks! That's their first "real" conversation, yup! They glared at each other in the food hall when she sat with Obi-Wan all those months ago but yup, they haven't talked. I hope the showdown was good enough! The action is far from over! ;)

**Narra561:** Thank you so much, and welcome to BD! I will! :D

**I'll be updating soon, guys! Count on that ;) **


	33. Leverage

Chapter 32 - Leverage

Obi-Wan thrust his lightsaber into the thick durasteel door, his palms unusually sweaty. This was the thinnest, most vulnerable door into the Archives. The tech mechanics in the central security station were still attempting to repair the computer virus that had spread, preventing any of the Archive doors from opening.

All Jedi assigned to protect the Archives had been mysteriously reassigned via shortbursted comm messages, but by the time the Council had been made aware of the infiltration, it had already been too late.

Anakin stood next to him, plunging his own blade into the door, eyeing Obi-Wan nervously.

"Ventress is probably just bluffing, you know," Anakin said, in a failed attempt to slow down his former Master's swiftly working mind.

"She isn't bluffing," Obi-Wan said flatly. He shut his eyes and held his breath as another three minutes passed, and he heard the fourth set of silent whimpers. The comm line had gone relatively quiet after his Padawan's second unbearable cry, but he didn't need to hear a single sound to know his Padawan was in deep trouble. What she was doing was admirable, but the slightest sound could be picked up by their wrist comms, and he didn't need a scream for his heart to break. "Ventress is _serious_."

"I'm sorry," Anakin said quietly, almost done with half of the semicircle he'd begun next to his Master. Even in the darkness, Obi-Wan could see the anxious, almost angry expression on his face. "Jaina's a tough kid, I'm sure she's fine."

He didn't understand. Blast it. As much as he appreciated Anakin's company, right now, he didn't understand. They'd sent Ahsoka back to the Processional Way with a _hysterical_ yet oddly catatonic Callista to get help; they were both out of harm's way. But Jaina—his own Padawan was with the person responsible for the entire crisis. _Blast it._

Obi-Wan just nodded, his lightsaber nearing Anakin's. She was alive and she was conscious, he could feel her swirl of emotions beyond the door they were slicing. That was good.

_Hang in there_, he said through the Force, somehow certain that she would hear him. _We're coming._

Obi-Wan could almost see her nod briskly on the other side of the door, could practically see her smile at him weakly. _Took you long enough._

He and Anakin had completed the circle now, and they extended their hands at the same time, sending the blastdoor flying. He leaped into the eerily blue chamber, lightsaber raised in an offensive position, eyes searching furiously.

Jaina sat on a chair beside one of the console tables that ran along the hallway. Two MagnaGuards stood behind her, their electrostaffs held threateningly across her body. She was struggling to maintain her upright, impeccable posture, her white hands tightly clutching the bottom of the chair. Her breathing was labored, her eyes unfocused, and her face pale, the distinctive pink tint on her cheeks completely gone.

Hidden in the shadows of nearby shelves were five Commando droids and another MagnaGuard. This wouldn't be easy. Ventress stood next to her, and laid a hand on her shoulder.

Jaina no longer had the energy to flinch.

"You sure took your time, Master Kenobi," Ventress drawled.

"I have your droids to thank for that," he responded in the calmest tone he could manage, attempting to communicate with his Padawan.

Jaina refused to meet his eyes. Obi-Wan didn't understand it, he was certain his Padawan was conscious, yet Jaina continued to stare at the ground, avoiding his gaze.

"I didn't want to make it too easy for you," she retorted. "There's no fun in that, is there?"

"Look, Ventress," Anakin said loudly, raising his lightsaber and taking a step forward. "You can choose to surrender or we can—"

"Anakin." Obi-Wan raised a hand in front of him, glaring at his former Padawan. That attitude would only aggravate the situation. "I think we all know that you're after something, Ventress," he said, in a warmer tone. "Why don't we discuss your terms calmly, my dear?"

"Of course, Obi-Wan," Ventress said, smirking and igniting one of her lightsabers. Jaina grimaced as the blade remained in front of her neck. "Although I have to admit, I'm getting rather attached to your Padawan."

Jaina remained unmoving as Ventress spoke, yet her message to him was clear. _I need a few moments._

Obi-Wan pursed his lips to acknowledge her unspoken request, certain Ventress would miss it. His Padawan would not.

"Yes, she is rather pleasant to be around, isn't she?"

"I think I'd like to keep her," she purred. "You wouldn't mind if I took her with me now, would you?"

"Oh, I think he'd mind," Anakin snapped, raising an eyebrow and pointing his lightsaber at her ominously. "If I know my old Master, keeping his Padawan against his will is a bad idea."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "He's got a point."

Ventress snickered. "Now that would be entertaining."

Anakin smirked, raising his blade. "Ah. We agree on something."

"You both give me too much credit," Obi-Wan said chuckling, giving his former Padawan a look and a subtle nod. He had no doubt that Anakin understood the situation.

Ventress's blade remained dangerously close to Jaina's neck, along with the electrostaffs running diagonally in front of her torso, preventing her from moving. His Padawan looked exhausted, defeated, but her eyes were focused somewhere far away. They needed to tread carefully. Sooner or later, Ventress would realize they were stalling.

"No doubt," she continued to drawl. "Why don't we get on with our business, shall we? I have a schedule to keep, and it looks like Padawan dearest is about to pass out."

Obi-Wan felt the Force gathering nearby, and it took him a moment to realize that for the past precious minutes, Jaina had been concentrating. Meditating. Attempting to regain all the energy and willpower she'd just lost. She raised her head ever so slowly and met his gaze for the first time, her brown eyes so miserable and tired.

Slowly, her arched eyebrows lowered, her lips pressed into a thin line and her eyes narrowed, completely changing her expression to the steadfast look of pure determination that Obi-Wan had seen on her delicate features so many times. Jaina offered them half a smile.

Obi-Wan realized it was the signal he had been waiting for.

Before Ventress could have fully noticed the change in his apprentice, Jaina raised her two hands, palms out, sending her and the two MagnaGuards flying backwards in both directions.

Once again, her adversaries' underestimation had been used as an advantage.

Obi-Wan leaped forward as the two nearby commando droids raised their blades, ready to strike down on his unarmed Padawan.

"I'm going after Ventress!" Anakin yelled, Force-jumping to the second floor and disappearing into the shadows. He didn't have time to respond.

Jaina tumbled to the ground, avoiding the first blow. She ended up behind the first Commando droid and sent a powerful kick. She whirled around as the second one readied a slash for her head. Jaina attempted to sidestep, raising her arm in a futile attempt to protect herself.

Obi-Wan outstretched an arm and sent the droid flying away before it could have struck. Jaina looked up and arched a sarcastic eyebrow. "Well, Master, I really appreciate your speed in getting here."

"This is another fascinating mess you've gotten us into, Padawan," He retorted just as wryly, attempting to lighten her stressed mood. "Almost as bad as Ryloth."

"Wasn't my fault," Jaina said quickly, defensively, as she used the Force to levitate the chair and hurl it at one of the MagnaGuards. "Those proton cannons were tricky. And Numa kept hanging on to me. Unlike you, I don't speak Twi'leki."

"Of course she did," Obi-Wan chuckled wryly, slashing the other MagnaGuard into pieces. "And how are you holding up?"

"_Don't_ ask, Master."

The five Commando droids began to form a circle around them and the two remaining MagnaGuards entered the perimeter, their electrostaffs pointed directly at their chests. Obi-Wan took another half-step back until he and Jaina were back to back, eyeing the impossible odds. She looked terrible, utterly worn out, and without her lightsaber, she wouldn't be as lethal as she usually was. This was awful.

"Six in total. Ideas, Padawan?"

"_Fight_," Jaina replied curtly, hopping atop the vibroblade of the first droid as it swung, her timing almost flawless.

Obi-Wan parried the first slash of the MagnaGuard, then swung for its legs, neatly cutting them off. "Jaina!" He called, tossing her his lightsaber.

"Thanks!" She said briskly, catching it in her palm without even turning around. Perfect, he and his Padawan were even more familiar with each other than he thought.

He Force pushed the leg-less MagnaGuard towards the banister of the second floor then hurled its malfunctioning remains in front of a Commando droid right before it swung its vibroblade violently. The pieces clanged to the floor.

"Master!" Jaina called from behind him and he turned around, catching the hilt just as the second MagnaGuard crashed beneath her feet.

Obi-Wan slashed at the Commando, then whirled around, blocking another vibroblade from cutting his throat. Nearby, he saw Jaina hop atop a droid and kick a second, then flip it to the ground.

Obi-Wan evaded a stab for his shoulder then cut the head of the Commando off. He tossed his lightsaber once again to Jaina, who caught it without a moment's hesitation.

One last droid in front of him. Obi-Wan Force pushed it towards a chair on the ground then to the ceiling, and caught his hilt as it was thrown back to him. He stabbed through the droid's central control panel, sending sparks in every direction.

Obi-Wan whirled around, hearing a stunned yelp, and hurried towards Jaina as she kicked the last droid towards the wall. His Padawan Force-pushed it at a nearby shelf then hurled it at the ceiling. It fell to the ground, muttering gibberish and he swung his lightsaber diagonally across its remains.

"What happened?"

"Done, done and done. Ugh, tiny cut," Jaina grumbled, grimacing at the upper part of her arm, now soaked in red. "Dumb droid. Come on, we can't let Ventress get away."

"Wait," Obi-Wan said quickly, laying a restraining hand on her uninjured shoulder before she could have attempted to dash upstairs.

"Master," Jaina gaped, astounded. "Ventress is—"

"Jaina, _quiet_," he said sternly, slipping a bacta patch from a back pocket in his belt and carefully positioning it around her arm. His Padawan remained uncharacteristically silent.

They'd been fighting for hours now, and he could see his own exhaustion mirrored in his Padawan, multiplied a hundredfold. She was currently leaning slightly more on her left foot, and kept switching her weight to either of her feet in the minutes that passed. Her shoulders had sunk, and her usual flawless posture had completely disappeared.

"Almost done," he murmured, wrapping a thin bandage around it as a temporary tourniquet.

"_Ouch!_" Jaina recoiled as he tightened the knot. "Master—"

"Sorry," he murmured, straightening and Force-pulling the nearest electrostaff to his palm. He handed it to her. "You'll have to do with this for now, I'm afraid. At least until we can get your lightsaber back."

Jaina nodded, her eyes sad. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again.

"Padawan, if you want to say something—"

"I'm sorry," she blurted out, then bit down on her bottom lip, embarrassed. "I'm sorry I let Ventress—Master, I didn't—I let my guard down—I didn't know she was going to—"

"Jaina, focus," Obi-Wan said sternly bringing his left hand to her other shoulder. "Now is not the time. I need you to concentrate on the _here_ and _now_."

Jaina pursed her lips and nodded brusquely. "Sorry. Let's go."

"Focus," he repeated, before dashing down the hallway and towards the turbolifts. He pulled out his liquid cable launcher and glanced at his Padawan to do the same.

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows, silently asking again if she was ready, then sighed heavily at her fierce nod. The thin wire shot upwards into the darkness and Obi-Wan hopped into the shaft, his Padawan inches behind him.

Obi-Wan planted his foot on one side of the shaft before they neared the end then somersaulted out the double doors. The skyline of Coruscant sparkled in front of them, tinges of orange on the horizon, behind relentless sheets of rain.

This was one of the many refectories and canteens on the highest level of the Temple Ziggurat. He remembered taking Jaina here for breakfast at the crack of dawn almost every day for the first few months of her apprenticeship. It was hours before her first classes and the cafeterias were usually still somewhat empty, as most Jedi Knights and Master preferred to meditate until midmorning.

Jaina had been enthusiastic then for the first weeks, perhaps months, but as the missions became much more frequent and more exhausting, she'd turned quiet and unresponsive during their breakfasts in this refectory. The months passed and he'd agreed to move their early meals to midmorning, like most of the other Jedi.

Tables were toppled over, plates were smashed and one side of the transparisteel wall was utterly shattered.

"This isn't good," Jaina panted, standing her staff on the littered ground and causing a loud clang. "Sorry. Heavier than I thought. Why wasn't anyone assigned here?"

"There probably was someone," he replied. "But as you know, majority of the Jedi are offworld with the war, and the remaining Jedi in the Temple have been pushing back the remainder droids down the Processional Way, if they aren't protecting important areas."

"The droids have been pushed back that far already?"

"As of thirty minutes ago, yes. The 72nd Battalion arrived from the GAR docks, so things have been speeding up."

Jaina nodded. "At least we know this whole nightmare is almost over. I'm guessing Master Anakin and Ventress are that way?"

Obi-Wan glanced at the ruined glass wall, igniting his lightsaber as he stepped through it. "Stay on your guard."

He sprinted out the refectory and onto the roof of the Temple Ziggurat, ignoring the icy pellets of rain battering them. The entire Northeastern Wing already had electricity, but the remaining parts of the Temple were still engulfed in darkness. The Fire Department of the Temple Precinct was working to help put out what damage had been done by the grenades thrown by most droids. So far, there were only nine casualties, which was lower than expected, but Obi-Wan felt pain for the Jedi that had been killed in their own home.

Their home. Until now, he could hardly believe that Ventress had launched an attack on the Temple. Obi-Wan felt guilty for chiding his Padawan hours earlier after she'd expressed her alarm at how the Separatists had attacked their home. Especially when he himself didn't understand how it had happened either.

Had the war spread the Jedi _that_ thinly? Had they been that careless? Or worse, that _arrogant_? Obi-Wan began to suspect that a debate regarding Temple Security would ensue among the members of the Council as soon as this ordeal was over.

He thought of the children hiding in the safe-rooms around the Ziggurat. The limited Healers and Jedi Knights assigned to the Infirmary, defending the sick and dying with their very lives. This simply _couldn't_ happen again.

"Master," Jaina exclaimed, gesturing with a hand to their left, the deafening claps of thunder making it difficult to be heard. "That way!"

"How can you be sure?" Obi-Wan asked, stopping.

"I think I hear them!" She responded, beginning to run down the length of a ruined garden, the electrostaff causing an eerie purple glow on her features.

True enough, as they passed the one of the greenhouses that littered the top of the ziggurat, Obi-Wan spotted Anakin pointing his lightsaber offensively at Ventress, his expression aggravated.

Before Obi-Wan could yell out an order, Jaina hopped atop the nearest crate then leapt towards Ventress, electrostaff raised.

Ventress landed a kick squarely on Anakin's chestplate, sending him back meters away. She had only a split second to block Jaina's strike.

His Padawan's movements were quick, this time aggressive, and Obi-Wan was happy to see that his additional training with her, especially with weapons that _weren't_ lightsabers, was paying off. He took a few more moments and watched her cartwheel fluidly towards Ventress's back before sending a Force-push at her knees.

Anakin slowly stepped forward to rejoin the battle, his expression deadly. Obi-Wan raised a hand and gave him a look. This was not their battle. At least, not yet.

His Padawan twirled the staff and swung it at Ventress's waist, barely flinching as it was blocked with both sabers. He could see real fatigue in her stance but a staggering amount of determination allowed her to continue pushing the staff towards Ventress's torso.

Ventress let out a sharp, angry sound, violently shoving Jaina back until she hit the banister roughly, the airspeeders going through Coruscant's busy spacelanes almost underneath her. Ventress twirled her blade in a swift motion, and Jaina's staff went tumbling over the edge.

Obi-Wan took several steps forward to intervene when a realization hit him. He stopped, only several feet away, a smile on his face.

Jaina glanced nearvously over the railing where the staff disappeared past the sheets of rain.

Ventress cackled, pointing her blades straight at Jaina's chest. "If I were you, I'd think twice about attacking with a weapon I don't know how to use next time," she mocked, causing Anakin to take another small step forward. "Problem is, I don't feel like granting you a next time."

Obi-Wan raised his hand higher, hardening the look he gave his former Padawan.

"Actually," Jaina stated smugly, in that distinct matter-of-fact tone that annoyed all her peers, pleased all her superiors. She pulled out a thin, silver cylinder from the back of her belt. Her lightsaber ignited in the midst of the battering rain. "I believe I do know how to use it."

Ventress looked down at her belt, utterly stunned. The expression turned to rage and abruptly, she began slashing furiously, each hit stronger than the last. Ventress whirled around and kicked Jaina squarely in the stomach, sending her stumbling back to the ground. She looked up to let them know she was okay, in spite of her harsh gasps for breath.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stepped forward until they were now directly in front of Ventress. "You're severely outnumbered, Ventress," Obi-Wan said politely. "Are you going to make life more entertaining for us by surrendering?"

"I think we've won this round," Anakin said, smirking and winking at Jaina as she stood back up, her breathing only slightly uneven.

Ventress's frantic, enraged eyes finally landed on Jaina and she shrugged lightly, an innocent smile on her face.

"Arrogant fools," Ventress hissed, abruptly Force pushing several crates at them.

The three Jedi easily slashed through the supply boxes but when they'd reached the banisters, Ventress had already hopped off, and was atop a vulture droid speeding away.

His Padawan began mindlessly Force-hurling the crates at the vulture droid, her movements still elegant but her aim sloppy. Jaina gracefully swung her right arm, sending the last box flying, but Ventress easily pushed all of them back or slashed them in half, cackling, as they disappeared through the sheets of rain.

"Quick!" Jaina exclaimed, clipping her hilt back to her belt. "We can still catch her if we reach the hangar bay in time!"

"Padawan," Obi-Wan said sternly and gently, his heart sinking. He laid a hand on her shaking shoulder. "Breathe. Use the Force. You'll sense that Ventress is gone."

"No," she murmured, voice cracking. "No, she's not, she's—"

"Currently entering a CIS shuttle a hundred feet above our heads," Obi-Wan said, folding his arms across his chest and looking up at the grey sky. "She's gone."

Jaina held his gaze, looking dangerously close to angry tears. She glanced at Anakin, who stood nearby, but he merely nodded sadly, just as disappointed as she was. Jaina blew out a fast breath and whirled around, banging her fists against the walls of a nearby greenhouse, shoulders trembling.

Obi-Wan nodded at Anakin as he soundlessly began walking back towards the turbolift. "Count to ten with me, Padawan," he said lightly. "One…two…three…four—"

"How could we let her get away?" Jaina muttered abruptly, more to herself, fists clenching and unclenching as she turned back to the wall.

"Six…seven…eight—"

"I have no idea what she was even after, she could've been trying to steal several things in the Archives; there are a lot of things that only Masters on the Council can access! I can't believe I let her get me!"

"_Jaina_. Listen. It's not your fault," he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "All this means is that it's not the right time for us, or anyone else for that matter, to capture Ventress. We must trust in the Force. Remember, everything happens for a reason."

"So, what, we just have to wait another month, maybe another year, allow her to kill another large group of innocent people before we can catch her?" She demanded, finally tearing her gaze from the wall. "Do we just let her capture someone else in order to get what she wants?"

"Padawan, _listen to yourself_!" Obi-Wan said, allowing some sharpness into his tone. "I understand you're upset, but you need to let go of these emotions and you need to let go of them _right now_. There will be another time for Ventress."

"She's been around for too long," Jaina said sighing, turning around and leaning tiredly against the wall. "I have no idea what she was after in the Archives...I just wish I could've at least found out..."

Obi-Wan exhaled heavily and leaned on the wall too, crossing his arms and eyeing the broken glass all over the floor. "It's frustrating, Jaina, believe me, I _know_ how frustrating it is."

"She's been eluding us for months now," Jaina groaned, tilting her face up to the sky and closing her eyes, letting the rainwater splash all over her already-soaked face. "It's _infuriating_."

"We'll get her when the time is right, Padawan," he said, looking her full in the face. "But you _must_ learn to trust in the Force. Let go. Don't keep it in."

"I'll get her next time," she said, sliding her fingers around the banister and eyeing the Coruscant skyline, her eyes seeing something he could not glimpse. "That much I'm sure of."

"I'm sure I don't need to lecture you about grudges, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan said warningly.

"I don't usually hold grudges."

"Well, it appears you've started. As your Master, I feel obliged to reprimand you and say that—"

"I like to think of it as a _righteous_ grudge, my Master," she said, turning over to look at him and almost grinning.

"Righteous grudge or not," Obi-Wan continued pointedly, though allowing a small chuckle to escape. "Let it go. It's not the way of the Jedi. We'll catch up with Ventress soon."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I know Ventress," Obi-Wan said, shrugging and beginning to walk towards the turbolift. "She'll be back."

* * *

**IT'S BEEN TWO MONTHS, OMG I'M SO SO SORRY D: I FEEL SO PISSED AT MYSELF FOR TAKING THIS LONG. NEXT CHAPTER IS IN THE WORKS, I WILL MAKE UP FOR THOSE TWO MONTHS BY POSTING AGAIN QUICKLY ;) Really appreciate reviews, comments and suggestions, you guys have no idea! :)**

**I must admit, as amazing as the Season 3 episodes are, the whole continuity issue really annoys me; how these episodes supposedly happen before and in between episodes in earlier seasons. Sooooo hate to say this, but don't expect any more tie-ins with the TV show in this story, I'll definitely mention events from there and Ahsoka is still going to be a main character and good friend of Jaina's, but the whole timeline just really gives me such a HEADACHE when I write this story. So yeah, just needed to rant! :)

* * *

**

**Shout-Outs**

**ClassicalBrunette: **Writer's block is terrible, gosh I hate it! LOL :)) Thank youuuu so much! I'll do that the next time I get a block, expect a message on Tumblr! :D Thanks, I did need it! And with you! ;)

**Narra561: **Thank you! Next chapter won't take long, it'll be up real soon!

**Stabbythings: **Hahaha! Thank you! I'll try not to be late too! :)

**Lady Gaga: **Thank you!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily: **Omg thank you! I was so worried about the showdown, writing that was soooooo incredibly tedious and scary!

Oh gosh, I haven't written from Obi-Wan's perspective in such a long time, this chapter was tough too! Hope he handled it in the way everyone expected him to hahaha!

**Charliebrown1234: **Hope I can be consistent then! D: Hahahaha! That's actually what I've been thinking about since the start, how Jaina is growing up as a Jedi while I'm growing up as a writer, it's weird! Awwww, thank you so much! The plots are going to get more and more interesting (and much heavier) since she's really starting to mature, hope I can get you to stick around!

**DarthAbby:** Whoa, you changed your name! LOL! Exactly ;) You and Jaina have that in common! It's both for her, she doesn't want to give Ventress the satisfaction and she knows screaming won't help her situation, it'll just make it worse; she doesn't know how her Master will react.

Awwww omg thank you so much! That really touched me, I'm so happy! Every time someone tells me that, I get so happy that people are enjoying it enough to call it almost-canon, thank you so very much! For you, I'll update as soon as I can! :)

**Guywhosings28:** Thanks! That's exactly what I was aiming for; I wanted to give small glimpses of basically everything Jaina is, and everything she isn't through the fight with Ventress. She's quite a complicated character sometimes, it's annoying! =)) I appreciate all the times you've helped me! Thank youuuuuuu, miss you lots too! :P

**Littlelionluvr:** It was definitely one of the most intense chapters I'd written! Thanks! Qui-Gon's bust actually served as my main inspiration for this entire subplot, I started wanting to write it when I found out he had a bust there. Ventress's attack kind of just developed as another minor plot to help in the general story after I read about Qui-Gon's bust :)) Thanks for the review!

**XWalkingShadowX:** Thank you so much, Angie, really appreciate it! I'll be posting sooner than y'all think! ;) Peaceout, I love reading your reviews!

I really appreciate it, everyone! You guys give me a reason to continue writing Jaina's story! Thank you so much for everything, keep the inspiration coming, I'll update soon, PROMISE!


	34. Recovery and Reassignment

Chapter 33 – Recovery and Reassignment

Jaina inwardly groaned as her Master tied the knot on the blindfold around her head. She didn't understand how they had the time for this.

It had been the Holocron. Three weeks had already passed since the bounty hunters broke into the Temple and took one of the Holocrons from the Vault, but Jaina still could not believe how blind she had been. They'd retrieved the Holocron and saved the information, but a small voice in her head still insisted that she could have helped prevent the entire crisis. She subconsciously tapped her boot repeatedly on the floor, slightly annoyed, as she waited for the other participants to enter the sparring chamber.

Ventress had vanished. Since that eventful evening in the Temple's Archives, nobody heard any news on Ventress. Which made each and every small irritation in the past month even worse. Right now, Ventress was probably somewhere far away, planning her next devious scheme, while Jaina was here, in Sparring Chamber D, about to compete with a large group of Padawans. This was useless.

"_Ouch_!" Jaina yelped abruptly, feeling her Master's boot trample on her own to silence the excessive tapping. She turned and 'glared' to where she knew he was standing.

"Manners, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan said from his place next to her. Underneath the admonishment, Jaina could tell her Master was smiling.

"Hmph. You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Of course he is," grumbled an equally exasperated voice, as footsteps approached them from meters away.

"Well, I'm glad to see I don't have to suffer alone, Ahsoka," Jaina said, grinning.

"Such cynical Padawans we have," Anakin sighed mockingly, also somewhere nearby.

"It's alarming, isn't it?" Master Obi-Wan added, just as wry.

"Oh, I wonder why," Jaina retorted, beginning to walk towards the Master that would be conducting this particular match. Her vision was completely and totally black, though the footsteps on the ground led Jaina to assume that there were at least eight other Padawans in the room.

"Good morning everyone!" Siri's voice greeted cheerfully from the center of the sparring mat.

"Good morning, Master Tachi," the Padawans greeted, each voice just as tired and sleepy as the next. It was early in the morning, and before Jaina had put on the blindfold, she'd glimpsed the dark Coruscant sky beyond the viewports.

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're all very energetic for the task ahead," Siri said, amused. "I've got ten Padawans on the mat with me today, and that means two teams, blue and green. You'll be going against commando droids and SBDs, so I suggest waking up. Blue team, Karina, Dynia, Ahsoka, Callista and Jaina. Green, Aubrie, Jorge, Elly, Gaspard and Ceesa. Team that takes down the most droids within the given time wins."

"Glass of Jawa Juice says that'll be us," Ahsoka whispered next to her.

"No arguments there," Jaina said, chuckling.

"I hear whispers," a voice grumbled from behind them. "I don't like whispers, what are you talking about?"

"Good morning to you too," Jaina laughed wryly. "Nice to see you're in such a good mood, Call."

"Ahh, I take back our bet on the Jawa Juice," Ahsoka said sheepishly.

"Find your positions," Siri said, and every Padawan in the room began walking around the large mat. "We'll begin the match shortly."

Jaina found a spot in the large mat and stood there, her fingers brushing the lightsaber hilt that was still clipped to her belt. She was wearing the usual Jedi tunic, but her Master had insisted months ago to add the same chest plate and armor he wore, for protection. Zigoola had shaken them both, that much was certain.

But it was times like these, when Jaina stood still, that she noticed just how uncomfortable and heavy the armor really was. She secretly suspected it was also another scheme by her Master to help increase her strength, as the weight of each piece really was heavy.

But nothing irritated her more than the stares and snickers she got walking down the hallways of the Temple or the _Negotiator_,her Master's new flagship. When she first looked in the mirror after fitting the armor, she thought she looked like a terribly small, female version of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Which was not acceptable in the least.

"I remember the old days before the Clone Wars, all Jedi simply wore the same thing, the same robes," her Master would say, in that usual tone he had when reminiscing. "My Master and I wore practically the same thing, I never complained."

"Your Master probably wasn't the face of the HoloNet," she had groaned then.

"Ah, you're confusing me with Anakin," Master Obi-Wan had joked, tapping the shoulder pads that began to weigh her arms down.

Now Jaina stood in her spot at the sparring mat, igniting her lightsaber only seconds after the other apprentices activated theirs. After the past month, the armor, despite its weight, seemed to fit perfectly with the contours of her body.

"Everybody in position?" Siri asked them, her voice coming from the observation deck. Jaina nodded curtly at her own blade.

"Wait, Jaina!" Callista exclaimed. "_Where are you_?"

"Lightsabers at the ready!"

"Follow my voice," Jaina said wryly. "You have five seconds."

Blasterfire erupted next to her boots, and Jaina immediately raised her blade to block the incoming blasts.

"Oops. Sorry. I meant two," she laughed, slashing the head off the first SBD.

"_Ugh_, I'm going to kill you!" Callista growled, recklessly swinging her blade, or Jaina suspected, feeling a swift breeze behind her neck and hearing a heavy boot hit the ground.

"Careful with the footwork!" She said cheerfully, Force-pushing the remains of the droid away. "Don't want to end up with you tripping now, do we?"

Ahsoka cackled from the other end of the room. "And this is coming from you, Jaina?" She demanded, suddenly right behind her, deflecting shots. "I remember our first spar as Padawans; you tripped and fell flat on your face."

"Really now," Jaina retorted, whirling around slashing horizontally as Ahsoka ducked and cut off the legs of a nearby droid. "I distinctly remember _being_ tripped."

"Hey, I could use a little help here!" Callista called from behind them, blindly sending a strong Force push and hurling Jaina and Ahsoka to the ground.

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?" Jaina exclaimed, beginning to push herself back up and blocking a blast that almost hit her forehead.

Reaching out blindly for something to grab, Jaina let out a loud grunt as another force shoved her back to the ground, this time tangibly hitting her on the ribs.

"_Ouch_!"

"My bad," Gaspard's low, mocking voice came from above her. "Point for Green Team!"

"Oh, you've done it now!" Jaina growled, raising her hands above her head as droid debris rained down on her. She swung her leg and tripped Gaspard so that he fell right next to her then playfully shoved him away. Jaina stood back up. "Is that a point for Blue?"

Siri's laughter echoed in the chamber. "Nope, sorry."

The brawl continued to rage on for several minutes. She heard three sets of footsteps coming at her from behind and backflipped, narrowly missing blasts that would have sent her to the ground. She stabbed the leftmost one, Force-pushed it at the one in the center of the formation then swung her lightsaber, neatly cutting a third head off.

Jaina felt Ahsoka once again behind her and whirled around, cutting off the weapon arm of a droid that almost snuck up to their left. Jaina lowered to a crouch and swung a large, three hundred sixty degree arc, cutting of all droid legs near them as Ahsoka somersaulted above her swing and swiftly slashed each droid before it had begun to completely fall.

She felt her friend land directly in front of her and reached out for a high five before tumbling to the ground and sliding underneath the last SBD, cutting it vertically in half. Breathing heavily, Jaina yanked the blindfold off her face and glanced at the scoreboard from her awkward position on the floor.

The number of droids each Padawan took down flashed beside each name. Her mouth quirked in a satisfied half-smile as she saw her name on top, with the blinking number 14 next to it. Ahsoka came next with a blinking 13, Gaspard with 11 and Callista was at the bottom of the board with a...3. It was a Blue Team win, as Ahsoka had predicted. Jaina looked up at her and grinned, taking the hand she had extended, and standing back up.

Gaspard stood nearby, next to a petite girl with short brown hair. "Good job, Aubrie," Jaina said to her, smiling at the newly appointed Padawan of Master Sirrus. Then she reached out to smack Gaspard on the arm.

"What was that for?" He gasped, his expression somewhere between a grimace and a grin.

"I'll get you back for that soon," Jaina warned, poking her tongue out at him and grinning before following Ahsoka towards the others.

She congratulated her companions one by one and graciously thanked them for their compliments before turning to the staircase that descended from the observation deck. Most of the Masters had already walked down to their Padawans and Master Obi-Wan was the last to come over. He began walking towards her, his expression exasperated and even slightly irritated. _What_ was wrong? She'd just destroyed fourteen droids, hadn't she?

"Padawan," Master Obi-Wan began, folding his arms across his chest. Uh-oh. "You're doing it again. You won, but you've _lost_. I already know you can fight, and so do the other Masters and Knights in the Observation Deck. What I need you to learn, and I need you to learn it _soon_, is how to fight with others as a _team_."

"Ahsoka and I are already very much used to each other's styles, we're a good team!" Jaina argued, catching the towel he tossed at her and wiping off the beads of sweat on her forehead. Most of the Master/Padawan teams had already left the chamber.

"You and Ahsoka make a good _pair_," he corrected. "That is not a team. And are you so certain that she will be the Jedi always assigned with us on missions?"

"No, but she usually is," she grumbled. "Besides, we've already gone on several missions with Master Siri, Master Fisto...we went on that one with Master Mundi...diplomatic mission with Master Gallia...oh, and Eriadu with Master Windu. We've gone on assignments with other Jedi and been part of a team, I don't understand what you're talking about, Master."

"Yes, but you also need to be in tune with Jedi _your own age_, Jaina," Master Obi-Wan said, exhaling heavily. "This is the problem with being my Padawan, we usually go on missions with other Masters..."

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that, and I don't like team matches," Jaina said quietly. "I don't know, I guess I prefer working alone. Or with you. Or Ahsoka and Master Anakin. Gaspard, Master Siri, Faithe..."

"Working as a team with people you're not familiar with is something you need to learn, my young Padawan," he said. "You may have the fourteen points but you fought for _yourself_. And sometimes that's even worse than losing."

"Hey, Callista did the same," she said defensively. "She was fighting for herself even more than I was! In case you didn't see it, she kind of Force-pushed us to the ground!"

"And when did Padawan Starr become my apprentice?" Obi-Wan asked, arching an eyebrow.

Jaina sighed, tightly clutching the towel around her neck, her entire body heavy. "Fine."

"Listen to me, Jaina, sometimes you need to learn to share the pressure with somebody else," he said gently. "Sometimes you just have to depend on someone else, even just for a little while."

"But I prefer working alone because that way I have nobody to blame but myself if there's a mistake," Jaina said. "Or no one to commend if…never mind. I don't know. I don't really like putting my fate in somebody else's hands."

"You've been that way since the war started," He said, sitting down on a nearby bench. "You engage in conversation with Jedi Masters, senators and admirals, but when it comes to your peers..."

"Jedi Masters, senators and admirals I can handle," Jaina murmured, sitting down and slapping the towel on her knees. "I guess, I don't know...people don't like me very much. I never really had the time to get to know them. And during Ventress's invasion, Callista mentioned something about how others think I'm…annoying. I believe the word she used was 'obsessed'. Not that she knows what she's talking about. But you can imagine why I'd rather not participate in team matches with my peers."

"Trust is not something I can teach you, Jaina, but it _is_ something you need to learn," Obi-Wan said, turning to her after several moments of silence. "Let go of everything, and trust the other members of the team. Because believe me, in the future, you _will_ be part of a team."

Jaina gave him a wry look. "Great. Let me guess, you've already been made aware of our next assignment, haven't you? And it involves another Jedi team, doesn't it?"

Obi-Wan offered her a cryptic smile and stood. "Let's get a quick bite to eat. The Council is expecting us in an hour."

"I'll catch up, Master," Jaina said, smiling weakly. "Not really hungry."

"That's a first. Are you sure?"

"Mhmm," she replied. "Better hurry, Master, or they'll run out of sapir tea."

Obi-Wan smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Do I save you a plate of nuna eggs, Fondor fowl and a Muja fruit then?"

"And a bowl of nerf stew please," Jaina added, grinning. "What? I'm a growing girl. It's hard living on rations."

Obi-Wan shook his head and stepped out of the chamber, leaving Jaina alone in the center of the practice space.

She took in slow, deep breaths, gazing out the chamber at the hallway as she physically and mentally prepared for another spar against the droids.

There were times when she could still see it all. The dim, red emergency lights, the scattered holobooks, the broken chairs. Ventress's ferocious, ruthless, _bloodthirsty_ eyes.

She could still feel the blood racing through her veins, hear her heart pound fiercely in her chest as she sat on the chair, struggling not to make a sound. Ventress watched as Jaina recoiled in pain, her expression somewhere between satisfaction and annoyance.

Three minutes would pass by all too quickly, each second precious as she attempted to regain the strength and will power not to scream. The MagnaGuards cast a frightening shadow in front of her, their impassive face-plates heartless and frightening.

The seconds ticked by and occasionally Jaina would miscalculate, only realizing it as the electricity coursed through her body. She couldn't allow her Master to rush in unfocused, so she bit on her lower lip until she thought it would bleed, preventing even the slightest sound from escaping.

Jaina opened her eyes and found herself back in the sparring chamber, staring blankly at the hallway where, a little more than month before, she had run and fought to save her life.

Jaina blew out a sharp breath then called a second saber to her palm from the rack. She ignited both her own blade and the practice sword, staring at them for several seconds. The droids began to enter the room as she used the Force to begin the session. This could be the only edge she had against Ventress, and if it meant learning something she wasn't really supposed to learn yet…so be it.

* * *

"I knew dual blades were part of Ataru, but I wasn't aware that Obi-Wan was taking it a step further."

"Master Siri," Jaina exclaimed, startled, as she kicked the last piece of droid on the ground. "Sorry. I thought I was alone."

"That almost looks like Form VI." Siri folded her arms across her chest, stepping down from the observation deck.

"It's not," she said quickly. "I mean, it's...it's not."

"Jaina, what are you doing?" Siri asked, sighing.

"I...I started taking more classes under Master Drallig," Jaina replied sheepishly.

"Is your Master aware of these classes with the Troll?"

"I requested that the lessons be kept private and for now, Master Cin has agreed," she murmured. "Just for now! I'm continuing with Forms III and IV under my other teachers and Master Obi-Wan, and I still definitely consider myself a Soresu practitioner, but I just thought...maybe learning the basics of using two blades would be useful...in the future."

"I'm almost afraid to ask why."

"I don't think you need to. I need to be ready next time, Master Siri, please understand."

"Being ready doesn't necessarily mean going to her level, Jaina, if I've taught you anything in the past years, I hope it's that," Siri said gently, plucking a small piece of droid foot from Jaina's hair.

She ran her fingers through it, subconsciously checking if any remained. "I know, I just don't like being caught off guard," Jaina said. "And Master Obi-Wan always says you need to _know_ the enemy before attacking. This is me attempting to 'know' the enemy."

Siri chuckled. "Every time Faithe and I get back to the Temple, she spends her time with that other Padawan, Callista. She sleeps. Attends some of her classes. Eats _a lot_. Practices, though that's actually because I _make_ her practice. And here you are, 'knowing the enemy'. I don't understand how you three are friends."

Jaina smiled weakly. "If they consider me a friend. They haven't spoken to me in...well, a long time."

"Maybe because you don't give them a chance to."

"It's not my fault I'm always busy and stressed out, and it's not like I can do anything about it," she replied, returning the second saber to the rack. "I don't exactly enjoy it either, but some things are necessary. Speaking of which, Master Obi-Wan and I are leaving again soon, there's a Council meeting in...thirty minutes."

"I know, I was summoned too," Master Siri said, grinning and beginning to walk out the chamber. "Looks like we'll have more time to work on your Jar'Kai, it still looks somewhat sloppy."

Jaina stared at her for several seconds before snapping out of her reverie and jogging after her. "Wait...you're going to _help_ me? Really?"

"First and foremost, I want you to understand that you are a Soresu practitioner," Siri said, turning to face her and stopping. "You're talented, Jaina, but those skills lie _particularly_ in Form III; and even though you're more than capable of utilizing the other Forms, you need to understand that with Soresu, you are exceptional. And that is where you stand, not with any other lightsaber form."

Jaina nodded. "Of course. I've been practicing Form III in the advance class with you for...six years now?"

"Exactly. And this is why you and Obi-Wan fight so incredibly well together. You could tip the balance of your entire apprenticeship under him for the worse if you attempt to master another Form before Soresu. Understand this, Jaina. If you don't, Obi-Wan will throw me off a moving ship speeding a thousand miles an hour, hundreds of feet in the air."

Jaina smiled. "Wouldn't want that. I don't plan on abandoning Form III or IV, Master Siri, this is just something to...throw Ventress off guard next time."

"You're already busy enough, Jaina, and I'll help you with extra sparring sessions only if you promise me one thing."

"Sure, Master Siri, anything."

"Listen to your Master. You need to learn how to work with others. And start talking to your friends again."

* * *

Jaina had stood in front of the full Council alone countless times, it was one of the many disadvantages of being the apprentice of a Council Member-her Master was sitting down on one of the plush seats and not standing in front of her. She was already somewhat used to the tension that came with standing in front of the twelve greatest Masters of the Order, but that anxiety still persistently returned each time they returned to the Chamber.

Jaina wasn't alone this time, Master Siri and Gaspard stood next to her. Master Garen was still finishing an extremely dangerous mission in the Unknown Regions and Faithe was recovering from a serious leg injury in the Halls of Healing. Because of this, Gaspard had temporarily been taken under the wing of the blonde Jedi Master. Much as she adored Master Siri, Jaina couldn't imagine being the Padawan of anyone else but Master Obi-Wan.

"This mission is crucial," Mace Windu was saying, his fingers interlacing on his lap. She was fond of the stern Jedi Master, he was close friends with her own teacher. But times like these, he was definitely intimidating. "Master Antana has not checked in with the Temple for over a month, and we've been trying to contact her to no avail."

"With all due respect, Master Windu, I was under the impression that Master Antana was stationed here at the Temple as a Lightsaber instructor?" Jaina asked timidly. "Her Padawan, Callista, was an...acquaintance," she explained at his questioning eyebrow raise. "She was quite happy at not having to leave the Temple for missions."

"Master Antana specifically requested the mission," Obi-Wan replied from his seat. "Limbus has been a troubled world for quite a while, and when the war began, it was one of the first to fall to the Confederacy."

"About three months ago, we received an urgent communiqué from the planet, sent from a boy by the name of Jadonn. His father was one of the military leaders of the planet before it fell to the Separatists," Master Mundi expounded. "In the transmission, he spoke of a dangerous factory that had the highest level of security imaginable. Jadonn was able to infiltrate the said facility and reported a possible bioweapon to Republic Intelligence."

"Another bioweapon?" Gaspard asked. "Do we know who is behind it this time? Vindi again? General Durd?"

"In his last transmission, Jadonn mentioned a bald tattooed lady," Master Gallia answered, looking pointedly at Jaina.

Her eyebrows twitched as she struggled to remain neutral. "Ventress?"

"Possibly," Master Windu said, his clear gaze sweeping her over. She hated moments like this.

"This is the reason you and your Master have been given this assignment," Master Gallia continued. "Because of your...previous experience with her."

Jaina subtly blew out an exasperated breath. "I understand, my Master."

"Here is the difficult part," Master Fisto said. "The factory reported by Jadonn supposedly uses children captured from schools around the planet. Since the beginning of the war, Limbus has already accumulated thousands of missing children."

"Illegal child labor?" Jaina asked, gasping.

"Although manufacturing a bioweapon in itself is illegal, yes. Padawan Gaspard, Padawan Jaina, you will have somewhat separate missions from your Masters this time, although both are intricately intertwined, and you will need to rely on each other's success."

"Master Kenobi and Master Tachi need to make contact with Jadonn's father, General Verrader," Master Gallia said. "He was the last person who saw Master Antana before she disappeared, and he may be able to help you find her now. Padawan Gaspard, Padawan Jaina, we need you to infiltrate the facility and find out if the Separatists are indeed creating another bioweapon against us. Jadonn said he will help where he can. All we need you to do is _confirm_ or _deny_ its existence. Should it exist, you are _not_ to attempt to destroy it without your Masters, am I understood?"

"This is a dangerous mission," Master Koon said, causing Jaina's stomach to drop as she realized the risks of this particular mission. "Your Masters will be close by and shall still be available to guide you, _but_ should an unexpected crisis arrive, can we trust your judgment, Padawans?"

Jaina turned to Gaspard and began to relax as his steady gaze slowly gave her the strength she thought had just disappeared.

"Yes, my Masters," Jaina said, slowly exhaling. "You can."

"Remember, this is a _rescue mission_," Master Windu said icily. "You are clear to engage Ventress if you encounter her but your mandate, first and foremost, is to bring back Master Antana and confirm or deny the existence of the bioweapon. If it does indeed exist, that changes things. Contact the Council before taking any further action."

"We understand, Master Windu," Siri said, her blue eyes focused.

"This mission is classified," the venerable Jedi Master continued. "Master Antana's own Padawan has been left in the dark, nobody must know of her mission. Your shuttle leaves for Limbus in two hours, dress accordingly as civilians. May the Force be with you."

* * *

"I don't like this," Jaina said quietly, slipping her arms through the dark gray civilian jacket that had been handed to them before entering the shuttle. She was in a navy blue jumpsuit under the jacket, her hair neatly tied with the Padawan braid tightly knotted to hide their identity. "Not that I doubt our abilities or anything, I just think it's a bad idea."

"I'm sure you and Gaspard are more than capable for this mission, Padawan," Obi-Wan said, looking uncomfortable himself in the Corellian clothes the Jedi had found for him. Even in civvy clothes, he still had the words Jedi Master written all over his forehead. "We'll remain in touch, we just need to find Master Soara first."

Jaina chuckled, watching him eye his reflection on a nearby mirror. "Droids, I can handle. But I really despise recon missions. I'm not...quiet enough."

"I noticed," he said wryly, reaching to fix the wrinkles on her sleeves. "But you and Gaspard are going to have to work together on this one. I know I don't need to tell you just how dangerous a bioweapon is, we've had several of these crises already before. Not to mention Limbus is-"

"-a Confederacy aligned planet with difficult terrain, rainy, cold climates, a bloody history and highly urbanized, polluted cities?"

"I was going to say a notoriously dangerous planet, but yes, that works as well. I'm happy to see you've done your research."

Jaina found herself caught between a sigh and a smile, so she just gazed outside the nearest viewport in their quarters at the streaking stars. Master Siri and Gaspard remained in the cockpit, taking the final shift. "Important mission with my best friend and no Jedi Master supervision? If I were any another Jedi Padawan, I'd be delighted."

"Well, unfortunately, you're you," Obi-Wan teased, picking up his rucksack and making his way to the cockpit.

"Unfortunately, I'm me," Jaina grumbled, following her Master. She took her seat behind Siri and Gaspard and gazed at the new blue and green planet that came into view. As they began to approach the world, she heard Master Yoda's last words to them echo in her ears.

"Behind enemy lines, you will be," Master Yoda had said quietly, speaking for the first time during the meeting. "Trust anyone, _you must not_."

* * *

**Fun Fact: **Limbus isn't a canon planet! :) I created it. Limbus is Latin for _Border_ or _Borderline_. This mission serves as a BORER in Jaina's life. Exactly _what_ it separates, you'll see in the future ;) One thing's for sure, their lives are going to start changing REAL SOON.

**Fun Fact # 2: **I had planned for Jaina to _attempt_ to use two lightsabers ages ago, almost a year ago, I think. She won't be using two any time soon, but that scene has _great significance_, though it won't be seen until waaaaay later on (I write every tiny scene for a reason!). For now though, as you've probably figured out, it's one of the many effects of her duel with Ventress and I didn't just put that in because Ahsoka started using two in Season 3 :D

**

* * *

**

**Shout-Outs! :)**

**DarthAbby:** Yup, the new name's awesome! Yes, you were! And who knows, you and Jaina could be on the same page in the next decisions to come ;) Hahaha! That's great! That's the biggest compliment anyone can get as a writer, thank you, I'm honored! This really means so much to me, thank you! And I mean, it's about time the Padawans got recognition for their bravery in the Clone Wars, I'm happy someone else has started too ;) I will most definitely check it out when it's up, congrats for starting a story too!

Thank you! I'll be updating again soon! ;)

**Littlelionluvr:** Right on time too, whew! Thanks, she's going to be growing up a lot more in the missions to come! I'll update soon! :)

**Starwarsdude8221991:** Thank you! I'll definitely be posting again soon!

**Marc:** Thank you so much! I'll be updating soon!

**Guywhosings28:** I am, I promise! Everything's going to start getting really exciting sooooon! She's starting to really grow up D: (HMPH :P) Thank you! Whew, writing the climax to that arc was really tough! Thank you, you know I love banter! xD Yes, we do! Expect me asking for help next time ;) Thank youuuuuu!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** YAY! :D Hahaha! There will be more obstacles to come, that's for sure! ;) I know right, I would've gone insane too! I'm close to her age as well; I think that's what makes it somewhat easier for me to write her hehe. Thanks, that's exactly what I'm trying to do! :) I try to pair up each Separatist crisis with an internal conflict that people can relate to, even just a little bit. She's growing up! D: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! ^.^ Here come the next set of hardships and friendships! ;)

**Charliebrown1234:** Yayyyyy that's great to hear! Hahaha! I really hate the whole Season 3 thing, much as I love the show, it totally ruined character development, and that's what I love about Star Wars in general! :( Really enjoyed that episode with Vos haha, he's hilarious! It isn't an Obi-Wan season at all! :| I'm torn between my desire for more Obi-Wan in the show and my happiness that I can write him with more liberty since he's only been in like two episodes hehehe it's hard! Thanks! Will be updating again soon, that's for sure!

**Expect an update soon! Thanks for the support, guys, I really appreciate comments and reviews! :)**


	35. Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter 34 – Behind Enemy Lines

"Show-off," Jaina teased under her breath as Gaspard glided their shuttle through the cloudy skies of Limbus, occasionally bringing them too close to the mountaintops then pulling up smoothly before lowering again further.

"I do recall being one of the few teenage pilots that beat you on the simulator," he retorted, flashing a toothy smile at her before turning back to the controls. "Over and over again."

Jaina flushed. "I let you win."

"Of course you did."

"Eyes on the viewport, young ones," Siri interrupted sternly. "We don't know who's behind Soara's capture yet, it could be anyone. And remember, we want to _avoid_ being ambushed."

"Yes, Master Siri," Jaina murmured, leaning her elbows on her knees and watching as they passed the snow-capped mountain range. Thousands of kilometers further, after a large ochre plain, she spotted huge clouds of black smoke reaching out towards the white clouds. "What _is_ that?"

"That would be our destination," Master Obi-Wan replied, grimacing. "The capital city of Grens."

"What happened down there?" Gaspard asked, slowly lowering the ship.

"It has always been a highly polluted area," Jaina said. "Or at least, it said so in my research. Most of the cities here on Limbus have the worst pollution problems in the galaxy, it's a highly industrialized planet."

"That's correct, Padawan," Her Master said. "However recently, the Separatists have begun conducting bomb raids around the entire planet...somehow I doubt that is pollution."

"I don't understand, why hasn't the Republic begun sending any relief effort?" She asked. "Why aren't we launching a campaign to liberate the planet?"

"Remember, Jaina, this is a galaxywide war, and most of the time our leaders need to keep their eyes on the bigger picture," Master Obi-Wan said quietly. "Unfortunately, up until this day, Limbus has had no strategic value whatsoever. And when it fell to the Separatists during their first wave, the Senate decided to leave it alone."

Jaina turned her gaze back to the viewport as they approached the capital city. There were so many things she wanted to say, to ask, but now probably was not the time to do it. They'd encountered many beings during their travels that had blamed the Republic for their hardships, had claimed that the Republic had abandoned them.

Usually, she refused to believe this was true, yet here was a planet filled with living beings that had been left to die.

"Are we sure the fake transponder codes are going to work?" Siri asked quietly.

"They should," Obi-Wan replied evenly. "Otherwise we're going to have an interesting start to this mission."

"_Shuttle Avarice_, this is the Grens Security Force, we have you on our scanners, identify yourselves. What is your destination?"

"This is the pilot, Gaspard...Valo," he responded, after glancing at their false ID docs then rolling his eyes at Jaina for the name. She shrugged, chuckling silently. "Slowing down to five hundred kilometers an hour, we are headed for the spaceport, Docking Bay sixteen, thirty degrees west of our current position."

"Are you expected by anyone?"

"No, we're here on vacation," Siri replied cheerfully, and her jovial tone made the difficult-to-believe very much plausible. "Thought we'd bring our two kids over to see the Sapphire Seas. We spent our honeymoon here sixteen years ago."

Jaina snorted, and it took all of her will power not to laugh as her Master slapped his forehead, grimacing.

"Right...Well, ma'am, I'm afraid you'll find that the Sapphire Seas have very much changed since your honeymoon. Submit to inspection at the docking bay and present all ID documents. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," She said in the same sing-song tone, before shutting off the comm. "I don't know why you need to make things so complicated, Gaspard."

"I don't know _how _you make things so simple, Master Siri," he replied, shrugging. "Approaching the landing zone. Everybody, hang on."

"Gaspard, we both know 'hang on' is your _other_ way of bragging. The day you're going to have a bumpy landing is the day Tatooine freezes over."

He lowered their shuttle on the landing platform and gazed outside the viewport at the desolate, ruined city of Grens. Then he offered Jaina a strained smile. "Let's hope it takes a while longer for Tatooine to freeze over then, shall we?"

"_Show. Off_." Jaina repeated, in an attempt to lighten the mood. She unbuckled her safety restraints then walked to the nearby cabinets where their survival packs were stored. She slid the door open and almost leapt back in shock.

A diminutive girl with large light-brown curls and bright eyes sat inside, munching on one of their protein bars. "Hi," she greeted sheepishly, dropping the small snack. "Err...what am I doing here, this isn't my bedroom!"

"_Callista?_"

"Callista?" Gaspard asked from the cockpit, powering everything down. "What about her? She's back at the Temple."

"Master, I think we have a problem," Jaina said flatly, planting her hands on her hips.

Master Obi-Wan and Siri followed to the cabinet and when they looked inside, their similar expressions shifted from shock, to anger, to horror. If the situation weren't so dire, Jaina would have laughed.

"Padawan Starr, _what_ are you doing here?" Her Master demanded. "You're supposed to be back at the Temple!"

"How did you even find out about this mission?" Siri asked. "It's classified!"

"Oh, that part was relatively easy actually," Callista remarked, grinning. "Jaina talked to Ahsoka about the mission, who in turn told Barriss, who in turn was overheard by Faithe in the Halls of Healing. Obviously, Faithe told me. Simple, really."

Jaina's eyes widened as the two Masters turned around to glare at her instead. She smiled sheepishly at their severe stares. "Well, come on now, let's not start this mission off on the wrong foot...it's not my fault! _She's_ the one that snuck aboard!"

"What are we going to do now?" Siri asked, turning back to Obi-Wan. "We only have four false ID docs."

"I have an idea," Obi-Wan said, exhaling heavily. "Though I have a feeling she's not going to like it."

* * *

"We're here on vacation," Siri said conversationally, wrapping a heavy arm around Jaina's shoulder and almost sending her stumbling forward. "Thought we'd bring the two kids over, they've been so restless with the war going on."

From afar, Jaina suspected their disguises actually looked plausible. She and Siri were almost the same height, Gaspard and Siri were fortunately both blonde, and Jaina's hair was only a few shades darker than her Master's. Behind the 'happy family', Callista stood, a hood obscuring her face.

"You decided to bring a slave on your travels?" The grumpy officer asked, gesturing his datapad at Callista.

"We only want the best for our children," Obi-Wan said cheerfully, wrapping his arms around their shoulders too. He'd successfully changed his posture, his tone. Whatever trace of Jedi Master in him was now gone. Apparently her Master was an actor too.

"Hmph, spoiled kids," he grumbled, before handing them back their ID docs. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you, kind sir," Jaina said, offering him a toothy smile.

"You know, maybe next time you should just keep your mouth shut," Gaspard said in a low voice as they began walking towards the exit.

"Like you can do any better," she retorted.

"Children, children," Siri reprimanded mockingly.

"This is a ridiculous idea," Callista growled from underneath the hood. "Now what?"

"Now we need to make contact with General Verrader and Commander Jadonn," Obi-Wan replied, holding the door open for his 'family' as the officer watched from afar. They all exited quietly. "Padawan, do you have the coordinates?"

"Just a couple of klicks southeast," Jaina murmured, glancing at her datapad. "They've set up an underground camp there, near enough to the spaceport so they can receive their additional supplies with ease. The city is a grid plan, so getting lost is not really a possibility."

"How are we getting there?" Callista asked.

"We're walking," Gaspard replied, laughing, as though any other idea was ridiculous. "Do any of us look like we carry speeders in our pocket?"

"Welcome to the large galaxy outside the Temple, Callista," Jaina said, offering her a wry grin.

"It's not like this is my first mission," she grumbled.

"What is it, your fifth?" Gaspard asked.

"_Third_."

"That's reassuring," Jaina remarked sarcastically.

She glanced around the empty streets, heart sinking. All around, buildings had collapsed, rubble littered the ground. The soil everywhere was a pale brown, it matched the sky above past the black smoke. They'd pass civilians occasionally, but they wore their hoods down and did not stop for conversation.

"The Separatists have wrecked everything..." Jaina murmured, her voice embarrassingly hoarse. "There's hardly anything left..."

"Let's split up," Obi-Wan said quietly. "We're nearing the coordinates of the meeting grounds. It always helps to get a feel of your surroundings first."

"Gaspard and I will check out these alleys," Siri said. "You two can take the boulevard. Callista..."

"I think I'll stay with you guys," Callista said quickly, moving towards Siri and Gaspard.

Jaina rolled her eyes. "Shocker. Master?"

"Let's go," he said, nodding and beginning the long walk along the boulevard.

She followed, a step behind, gazing at the debris that littered the area. Speeders had been overturned, transparisteel shards were found all over the street and up ahead, a large building cast a long shadow on the entire street. The building looked even more battered than the others they had seen. Some of the walls had completely collapsed and most viewports had shattered.

"Master," Jaina asked quietly, gesturing at it. "What do you think that is...was?"

"I don't know," Obi-Wan replied quietly. Other than their quiet footsteps, the city was silent. "Stay alert, Jaina."

"Yes, Master."

Her Master stopped at the entrance of the building then pulled out his lightsaber, gesturing for Jaina to do the same with a glance. She nodded, her palms sweating as she clutched the hilt. He stepped into the darkness, but Jaina took a few moments to steady herself before following.

She took one step into the building and abruptly felt Obi-Wan's gentle hands fall over her eyes.

"Master—" Jaina called out, startled.

"It was a school," her Master said softly. He slowly led her back out the door. "Keep your eyes closed, Jaina."

Jaina bit on her bottom lip but nodded, following him back to the street where he lowered his hand. A school. The Separatists had bombed _a school_.

"Why do they do this?" She asked, as they slowly walked back the way they came. "We've been fighting this war for almost two years now, Master, but I still don't understand..."

Obi-Wan placed a firm, reassuring hand on her shoulder as they neared the spot where they'd split up. "Sometimes, beings do terrible things because they believe they're doing the _right_ thing...'the end justifies the means', that's usually the excuse, and I'm sure that is Count Dooku's excuse as well. But remember this, my Padawan, the end _never_ justifies the means."

Jaina nodded weakly. "Yes, Master...but...I'm confused, isn't that what the Senate is doing right now? They're abandoning worlds like Limbus, offering them up as sacrifices to the Confederacy so that they can protect more 'strategic' worlds...unjust means towards a supposedly peaceful end. No wonder some worlds have decided to leave the Republic."

"We are fighting for the freedom and safety of the galaxy's citizen's, Padawan, _not_ the Republic, I need you to bear that in mind," Obi-Wan said, stopping and glancing around for Siri, Gaspard and Callista. "I know it seems easier for you to remind yourself that you are fighting for the Republic because it is something tangible, but we are fighting for something much more important than that. And at times, in fact more frequently lately, the Senate seems to be making…some big mistakes. But one thing remains the same and _will always _remain the same: the Separatist Army is what stands in the way of the peace, freedom and safety we are fighting for, and that is why it is them we are fighting _against_."

"Even Ryloth wasn't as bad as this," Jaina sighed, gesturing at the ruin all around them. "I wish...I just wish there was some way we could stop all this from happening everywhere."

Obi-Wan exhaled heavily just as Callista, Siri and Gaspard came out from a nearby alley. "I know."

"Well, nothing and nobody here," Siri said sadly, planting her hands on her hips. "It's the same everywhere. Did you two find anything?"

Jaina looked up at her Master then shook her head. "No."

"It's probably safe to head to the rendezvous point then," Gaspard said. "What are the coordinates?"

"It's that building there," Jaina replied, pointing her index finger at a pile of wreckage down the street perpendicular to where they were standing. "General Verrader and Commander Jadonn are supposed to be waiting for us."

"Keep alert, Padawans," Siri said, making her way to the remains of what must have been a sky scraper before the Separatist attack.

Jaina kept her lightsaber in her moist palm, eyes wide open, each footstep smaller than the last. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Suddenly, her Master stopped and extended an arm, stopping them. "Wait."

Jaina rested her thumb on the activation switch, eyes swiftly moving from building to building. They were right in front of the coordinates now. But something felt wrong.

Obi-Wan's lightsaber activated in a flash. "Ambush!"

Grenades flew out from about six windows, even Jaina wasn't certain as she only had seconds to count. Thick black smoke erupted everywhere at once and she found herself separated from Gaspard and the Masters.

"Jaina, what's going on?" Callista demanded, tightly clutching her sleeve.

"Stop holding me and get your lightsaber out, we're under attack!" Jaina exclaimed, eyes stinging and tearing up. "Master! Gaspard!"

Suddenly a foot swung out of nowhere and set the lightsaber hilt spiraling out of her palm. Jaina recoiled, hand stinging, and barely managed to duck as another kick came for her head.

She gazed around at her surroundings, senses on high alert, and heard footsteps coming at her from behind. Jaina grabbed the hand as soon as it reached her shoulder and swung downwards, flipping her assailant to the rough ground.

He looked almost as tall as her Master, and was probably a few inches taller than Gaspard. Dark goggles obscured half his face but he had messy black hair and a defined jaw line. Before Jaina could have completed her assessment of the skilled attacker, he swung his leg underneath hers, effectively tripping her and sending her choking with soil.

Jaina gripped his collar as he attempted to haul her back to her feet then reached out to strike at both sides of his head. He dropped her immediately and she wasted no second. Jaina kicked him roughly in the abdomen then swung her other foot to strike across the face.

The goggles fell to the ground and revealed dark brown eyes, staring at her in shock and disbelief before he refocused. The smoke was beginning to vanish and Jaina offered him half a smirk before cartwheeling forward to land a kick on his chin.

Before Jaina could've completed the flip, he grabbed her by the ankle and swung downwards, causing her to utterly lose her balance. Jaina clutched at his large arm ineffectively as he wrapped it around her neck and began walking forward.

The smoke cleared as they neared the end of the street, and Jaina glimpsed her Master, Master Siri and Gaspard conversing with a group of similarly-dressed men, Callista standing quietly behind them.

"Dad?" Her assailant called out uncertainly, his voice friendlier than Jaina would've imagined.

"Jadonn!" The man conversing with Obi-Wan exclaimed, but his expression switched from relief to horror in a split second. "_Jadonn_! These are the Jedi sent by the Senate! That's Padawan Jaina you're holding, they've been searching for her!"

"Yeah," Jaina murmured, her voice hoarse. "What he said."

"_Sorry!_" Jadonn gasped, releasing his grip almost immediately. "Sorry, SOP you know, attack first, ask questions later."

"Ah, what a lovely world with a lovely culture," Jaina said wryly, tenderly rubbing her neck. Under the daylight, she got a full glimpse of the young Limbus commander. He looked only slightly older than she was, and his dark eyes now looked severely embarrassed, his hair even more disheveled than it had been in the smoke. A boyish face rested atop the defined jaw, a small dimple marking his chin. Blood trickled down his nose from their earlier meeting.

"Are you finished with your assessment?"

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm fine, I don't think you've broken anything."

"I meant of me."

"No," Jaina raised an eyebrow. She began walking towards her companions. "But when I am, I'll let you know, shall I?"

"Are you all right?" Gaspard asked, breaking his glare at Jadonn and bringing his hands to her wrist, where a purplish bump had formed. He grimaced. "Ouch. This might take a while without the Healers."

Jaina grimaced. "I figured that much. I'm too tired...lazy right now. Maybe tonight."

"I'll give you a hand, don't worry."

"Who would've thought, huh," Callista murmured, a smug grin on her face as she handed Jaina back her lightsaber. "Jaina, disarmed by a non-Jedi. I'm so glad I decided to tag along."

Gaspard and Jaina glowered at her.

"Padawans," Siri called, waving them over.

"I don't think I got the chance to properly introduce myself to you, Padawan Jaina, I'm General Verrader," the middle-aged man speaking quietly to her Master greeted, extending a hand.

"General," Jaina said, shaking his hand. He had the same boyish face as Jadonn, with graying hair and an unkempt beard. "Have to say, you all are definitely quite...jumpy."

Master Obi-Wan glared sternly at her from the corner of his eye but the general merely chuckled. "Yes, well, you'll find yourself just as 'jumpy' in probably...a week? It's a wonder the things Limbus does to you."

"Dad, we should probably get back to the base," Jadonn said under his breath. "Suns are setting. We wouldn't want to get ambushed ourselves. And I have to get back to the factory by sundown otherwise they'll get suspicious."

"Right, thank you, Jadonn," Verrader said, already sending hand signals to the fifteen other troops surrounding them. "Back to base, everyone. Take the same routes assigned earlier, don't lose sight of your squad. Master Jedi, I'd stick close. Limbus isn't exactly the planet that you'd like to get lost in."

* * *

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jaina asked, laughing. "Don't think I've forgotten our Healing classes, you accidentally dropped the bottle of bacta on yourself."

"Yeah, and you ended up patching me up instead of vice versa." Gaspard winced. "Don't remind me. Master Allie failed me on that test."

"That's probably the only test you failed at anyway," Jaina said, taking the end of the bandage from his rough hands and wrapping it around her own wrist. "You're annoying."

"Hey, I overheard that most of our teachers can't decide if you're quietly brilliant or brilliantly quiet every single time you're in class. You hardly say a word in the room. A good number of them actually think you're both. Told you so. You're annoying as well. "

"Don't give me that smug look, Gaspard, I worked my butt off for whatever talents they all think I possess," she retorted, grinning. "Unlike you. You just stare at a holobook for thirty seconds and have it memorized. How fair is that?"

"Not my fault! Sorry, Master Obi-Wan," he murmured sheepishly as Obi-Wan passed by and eyed the sloppy bandage. "Healing never was my strong point; I don't even know why I continued."

But Obi-Wan turned his exasperated look at Jaina. "What happened now?"

"Why are you looking at _me_?" Jaina burst out laughing. "Not my fault, that _brilliant_ Commander of theirs decided to try and attack me. I think I almost broke his nose though..."

"Ouch!" Gaspard exclaimed, trying and failing to hide his grin. "Wish I could've seen that."

"Nothing new, just the usual things you see in our own spars," Jaina replied smugly as Obi-Wan leaned in to fix the bacta patch. "I'm sure you don't need reminders."

"Nope, I still have the scars thanks very much," Gaspard said, mocking a hurt expression and getting up from the table they were sitting at. "I'll go check on Master Siri and Callista."

"Please do, and remind them that we were instructed to remain hidden," Obi-Wan said, already finished with the bandage. "We have to wait for General Verrader before making our next step, he has the information we need on Soara."

"Yes, Master Obi-Wan," Gaspard nodded, stepping out of the room.

They were hiding inside an abandoned apartment near the outskirts of Grens, while General Verrader helped Jadonn sneak back into the factory. Separatist patrols were scheduled at around this time, so they made sure to remain indoors. Siri and Callista were guarding the outer part of the apartment while she and Gaspard had been attempting to heal her bruise, though it had worked somewhat. Master Obi-Wan had tried to raise the Temple to no avail.

"We've been on this planet for hours already yet I still feel a strange unease," Master Obi-Wan said suddenly, his gaze was focused on the street. "I can't pinpoint it though, it's aggravating. I do hope Soara's all right."

"I don't sense her anywhere nearby. And I think we would've sensed if she was in grave danger. Just the usual then, Master," Jaina murmured, shrugging. "Us walking in blindly into what's likely a dangerous mission."

"As usual," Obi-Wan sighed, standing from the chair and eyeing Gaspard, Siri and Callista across the street. "I see Verrader. Continue the watch with Callista and Gaspard, Jaina. Siri and I need a few moments with the General, we'll call you back in."

Jaina nodded, already opening the door. "Yes, Master."

Siri walked towards them and winked at her before entering the store with Obi-Wan and Verrader, who closed the door.

"I don't like the weather here," Callista murmured, 'slave' cloak tightly wrapped around herself. "I can barely move."

"You don't usually move to begin with," Gaspard teased, grinning wickedly as he began strolling down the street.

"Yeah, you're one to talk!" Callista retorted.

"Careful," Jaina called out seriously. "The Masters said not to wander too far—"

"I know, Master Siri instructed me to check the entire block and make sure we're alone," he replied. "Don't worry, I think I'll be fine."

"Typical," Jaina groaned, blowing her hair out of her face. "He thinks he can take on anything."

The silence of the night threatened to engulf them. There were no birds, no animals, no trees whatsoever to offer them the sounds that would help ease the disquiet they'd all felt upon arrival. Callista's head leaned towards the wall, her eyes drooping closed.

"I know why you did it, you know," Jaina said quietly, causing Callista to jerk awake. "Why you snuck onboard our ship."

"It's boring in the Temple," she replied, subconsciously kicking a rock. "I have to put my skills to _some_ use."

"You care about your Master too," Jaina stated, gazing at the stars. "You don't have to act so... uninterested all the time, Callista, I think I would understand, of all people."

"Yeah, I do care. Just as much as I care about you."

"One of these days that facade of indifference you put on is just going to disappear. I eagerly await that day."

"Now why would my greatest talent disappear?"

"That isn't your greatest talent; your greatest talent is annoying me out of my wits."

"That would be number two."

Jaina exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes. "You are so difficult sometimes."

"Actually, all the time."

"Look. You can talk to me, or you can just continue bottling it all up on the inside. Fact of matter is, I _understand_." She turned to Callista and saw her dozing off on the wall again.

Jaina sighed. "Sorry, don't have my Master's patience just yet. I'm going to go check on Gaspard. Don't get lost."

"Hey, wait a minute," Callista said, stumbling to catch up with her. "Don't leave me here, I could _die_!"

Jaina continued walking, completely ignoring Callista as she struggled to catch up with her brisk walk.

"All right, all right, all right, I _do_ care!" She burst out, stopping in the middle of the street. "Happy?"

Jaina turned around and smiled. "Satisfied, but we'll get to happy later."

"She's the only who I can't irritate," Callista said in a small voice.

"I guess that's your way of saying, she knows me best, she's my mentor, and I don't want to lose her?"

"Now let's not go that far. Baby steps first."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "You don't need to pretend to me, Call. As you so often love to point out, I care about my Master too, every Padawan does. I understand what you're going through."

"One, I'm not pretending. Two, I'm not the only one who 'loves' to point it out, the others just do it behind your back. And three, you're you. Do I need another reason?"

"No, I think you're good," Jaina growled, wrinkling her nose.

"See, we can agree!"

"You're impossible."

"Jaina," Gaspard called from the entrance to the apartment. "Callista! The Masters are calling us in. Time for a briefing."

"Let's go," Jaina murmured, making her way towards Gaspard.

Callista tugged on her sleeve. "What's a briefing...?"

Jaina blew out a long, strained breath, counting silently from one to ten, and sat down on the chair next to her Master and Callista after closing the door.

"There's only one way to get inside the factory," General Verrader was saying. "We have to make the Separatists aware that you're traveling with children. They'll attempt to kidnap you immediately and place you in the factory, that's how we got Jadonn in to begin with."

"How do we do that?" Siri asked.

"I have an idea. General, would you be aware of any social gatherings where Jedi Siri and I can brag about our lovely children?" Obi-Wan asked, smiling and wrapping two arms around Jaina and Gaspard. "We just love meeting new people."

"Really, a social gathering," Jaina wrinkled her nose. "Couldn't we just walk into the Government Palace and greet some of the people there? Hope we're lucky enough to be abducted?"

"We can't, the Government Palace is where Soara went missing," Siri explaining, exhaling heavily. "We don't know yet who is on our side and who isn't."

"Right, forgot about that," Jaina murmured. "So...a social gathering?"

"Now that I think about it, you've arrived just in time," General Verrader said, looking up from his datapad. "Tomorrow afternoon, there will be a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Medical Center put up by a rich, ancient family. First new building in years. General Onde Mazlo, the head of the Separatist Army on this planet, is sure to attend. I think that would be the perfect opportunity to introduce you to some people. Perhaps we'll get lucky enough to begin the recon work."

* * *

"This is torture," Jaina murmured, sipping from a glass of water at the food table outside the only new building in the entire city of Grens. Citizens walked around and chatted without preempt, and Jaina remained at the corner of the large tent.

"I don't know, I actually quite enjoy this," Callista murmured, shoving a large pastry in her mouth. "Food's good, you want some?"

Jaina waved a hand. "I'm heading to Gaspard. You're going to be fine here, right?"

Callista nodded, already stuffing another type of pastry in her mouth. "How classy you are," Jaina said wryly, patting her on the shoulder and walking in the opposite direction towards Gaspard, who she found staring blankly ahead.

"What's wrong?" She asked, tapping his shoulder. "What are you looking at?"

He raised a finger, his gaze still oddly shocked. Jaina followed where he was pointing and her jaw dropped.

Obi-Wan and Siri were conversing excitedly with a group of people, their hand gestures oddly exaggerated and nothing like their Jedi selves. They laughed loudly and slapped the shoulders of their new acquaintances.

"They're..." Jaina murmured, stunned.

"I know..." Gaspard nodded, equally as confused.

"Now _that_," Callista said, popping out from behind them, "is awkward."

Siri laughed and flipped her hair, then turned her charming smile to her 'husband', running a tender hand along his chin and tossing a mini pie into his mouth.

"Did she just _flip_ her _hair_?" Gaspard exclaimed.

"Did she just _touch_ his _beard_?"

"I take it back," Callista said, bursting out in laughter. "Now _that_ is awkward."

Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder. They continued to converse with these two other couples, excited about the new infirmary.

"This is just so _odd_," Jaina murmured, her jaw dropping lower.

He leaned down to kiss her on the top of her head. All three of them jolted a step back in shock.

"OH..." Gaspard doubled over in laughter.

"Stars and galaxies..." Jaina stared, still astonished.

"For once, I'm speechless..." Callista said, horrified. "This is terrible!"

"We never saw anything," Gaspard said, turning to Jaina and Callista, pointing a finger at them.

"Nope!" Jaina agreed immediately. "Not a thing. Quick, let's go before they find us—"

"HEY!" Siri loud, strangely high-pitched voice called. "It's our kids! Jaina, Gaspard, come here!"

"_Run!_" Callista said under her breath.

"Too late," Jaina whimpered.

Obi-Wan and Siri suddenly appeared from behind them, and they found themselves enveloped by a group of strangers.

"This is Jaina," Obi-Wan said cheerfully, roughly patting her back and almost sending her staggering to the ground in his enthusiasm. "Sorry, dear. She's fifteen, and my boy, Gaspard, is sixteen. We're so excited to bring them back here to Limbus, Siri and I had a lovely honeymoon here all those years ago."

Jaina leaned back and glanced at Gaspard, who was on Obi-Wan's other side. He made a puking motion at the floor. Jaina grinned and turned back to their new acquaintances.

"Jaina, Gaspard, say hello to General Mazlo," Siri said. Her smile was flawless, yet beneath the grin was a glare the others could not see. "He's in charge of the entire CIS operation here in Grens."

"Good day, sir," Jaina greeted, following their lead and attempting to act like a typical girl. "This was a wonderful ceremony."

"Thank you," the Neimodian General replied, his expression frighteningly interested in them. "Excuse me, I must attend to the other guests. I will see you soon, no doubt. Enjoy your stay here at Limbus."

"Oh, we will," Siri said, beginning to steer them towards the exit.

"Do you think that worked?" Jaina whispered, as they began slipping out of the crowds of people.

"I turned on the charm for him, it usually works on almost everyone," Siri said mockingly, getting into their speeder after Obi-Wan held the door open for her. "Neimodians. I can't stand them."

"I don't think any of us can," Gaspard said wryly, as they began zooming down the street towards their apartment.

"Obi-Wan, for star's sake, slow down, you're not Anakin. We could crash," Siri scolded, tightly clutching her safety restraints.

"We need to get as far away from there as possible," her Master said, pushing the speeder past its limits.

"_Sweetheart_. Please slow down."

"We're not safe here, honey."

"Whatever happened to your charm working on everyone?" Jaina asked, grinning.

"I said _almost _everyone," Siri said, turning around to look at them from the passenger seat. "Obi-Wan is the frustrating exception."

"With good reason," Obi-Wan retorted, bringing the speeder to a halt outside their apartment. "Get inside, Jaina and I will take the first shift."

Siri nodded and entered the ruined building, flipping her hair another time before closing the door. Jaina chuckled.

"I needed to speak with you, Padawan, because the Separatists are on their way," Obi-Wan said quietly, turning away from her and gazing at the setting sun.

"How do you know?" Jaina asked, alarmed.

"I overheard Mazlo, he's sending a squad of commando droids to abduct you 'children' in a few minutes. I'm not going to be able to help you for a while, Jaina, but Siri and I will not abandon you, remember that. If we find Soara before you are able to confirm the existence of the bioweapon, we'll come and get you. Then we'll go with Plan B."

"What's Plan B?"

"I'll come up with something," Obi-Wan said, turning around and offering her his usual smile. "But you'll have to work with Gaspard and Callista on this one, _don't_ take any unnecessary risks. This isn't a solo mission, Padawan, and I won't be able to guide you."

"I'll be fine," Jaina said, quirking her mouth in a half-smile. "Even when you're not around, your voice still nags me in my head. I don't think I'll be doing anything stupid."

"I'm glad to hear that," He said, chuckling. "I don't think I need to stress the importance of your...discretion, Padawan. Remaining undercover is your highest priority, you will be killed without a second thought if the Separatists discover your true identity. Commander Jadonn will assist you in finding any evidence on the bioweapon when he can, he's already smuggled your lightsabers in."

"Yes, Master."

"No unnecessary risks, Padawan," he repeated, looking at her pointedly. "Remember you're on your own this time."

"This isn't my first mission without you, Master, I'll be fine," Jaina replied, smiling in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yes, I remember perfectly well what happened the last time, you almost blew Master Windu's head off."

"That was _not_ my fault."

"Take this," Obi-Wan said, handing her a tiny ear-comlink. "I'll be there if you need me, Jaina. And that way, my voice will not just be in your head."

Jaina grinned. "Perfect."

"They're nearby," Obi-Wan murmured, his expression almost anxious as he gazed at the end of the street. He planted a hand on her shoulder. "Take care, Padawan. We'll be back for you soon."

"That is, if we don't come for you first."

"Get inside, Jaina, hurry!" Obi-Wan yelled abruptly, back in character. The squad of commando droids on swoops turned the corner, led by three tall men whose faces were obscured by black masks.

"Ma—Father, what's happening?" Jaina demanded, her voice successfully shaky. "Who are those guys?"

"Jaina, get inside, take your mother and go!" He continued, loud enough so that Siri, Callista and Gaspard would be made aware of the incoming CIS forces. The squad was mere meters away. "Hide!"

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Jaina cried, tugging at his arm, now extended in front of her as the droids approached them on foot, vibroblades raised. The sun had completely set. "Dad!"

The first droid struck, easily hitting Obi-Wan away with its arm. Jaina took several steps back as three of them continued walking ominously towards her.

"Leave her alone!" He exclaimed, throwing a clumsy punch at one of them. Inside the house, Jaina could hear Callista's screams, which she guessed weren't fake at all.

"Don't!" Jaina screamed, as it picked her 'father' up and flung him at the wall. "What do you want from us?"

"Come quietly, and we won't harm Mummy and Daddy," a voice suddenly whispered into her ear.

Jaina whirled around and struck gracelessly, weakly. It wasn't easy. The man grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, then pressed a cloth violently to her nose and mouth.

"Dad!" She shrieked, pretending to struggle as they tossed her to the back of one of the speederbike. Her vision was beginning to blur, and all feeling in her legs had already disappeared. "What's happening?"

"Jaina!" She heard the voice coming from far away. "_No!_ Jaina!"

They roughly shoved a black bag over her head, completely obscuring her vision. Her arms were numb. She vaguely heard the swoop's engines roar to life as her eyes began to slide closed.

Jaina was certain of one thing, their mission had officially begun.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hope you all enjoyed this rather lengthy, _eventful_ chapter! I probably won't be able to post this week or next, (finals and college entrance tests SIGH) but I WILL be posting before Christmas, as a gift to all of you out there! ;)**

**I never thought I'd reach this number of reviews, thank you so much, everybody! I really appreciate each and every review, you have no idea! :) And The reason I love reviews is because I absolutely enjoy _replying to them!_ Thanks, everybody! Writing Blurred Destinies has been nothing short of AMAZING!**

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**Shout-Outs!**

**Littlelionluvr**: I'd actually planned on giving Jaina two lightsabers for a while, to display the more physical rather than emotional aspects of her desire to find and defeat Ventress. I was initially annoyed that they'd given Ahsoka two on the show as well hahahaha LOL! Things are going get more exciting! ;)

**Guywhosings28**: Why, thank you! ;) Yup, I try to introduce an internal conflict in Jaina with every external one, and teamwork is definitely something familiar for me to explore. Yes, she is and it definitely will be! (I don't know which author you are referring to :P) Oh, no, I hope I haven't become too predictable! LOL! But as people have probably figured out, I write each and every incident for a reason ;) And with you!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily**: I know right, that poor girl just has so many things beginning to pile up on the inside! I know you enjoyed reading this chapter WITH GASPARD :D because I definitely enjoyed writing it! More Gaspard to come ;) Thank you for everything! I'll be posting soon!

**Narra561:** Thank you soooooo much! I'll update soon!

**ClassicalBrunette**: Three, now! ;) Thank you! I think you already have an inkling, but it's still going to take a while, with more events leading up to it! Oh, gosh, I haven't thought that far ahead, there is still a loooooooot more to go! Jaina's got a lot of growing up to do first ;)

**Pronker**: Thank you so much! I'm happy to see you're enjoying it! There's much more to come, hope to see you around! :)

**Charliebrown1234:** I did not like that line whatsoever! I mean, I know Obi-Wan has a lighter, more humorous side, but that really did not sound like something he would say! -_- Thank you, the whole teamwork theme is going to be popping up throughout this subplot, that's for sure! :) I had the same problem! Still do now hahaha! Thank you! I'll be updating again soon!


	36. Enigma

Chapter 35 - Enigma

"I don't like this," Obi-Wan murmured, continuing his walk across the street, then crossing again. "I don't like this at all."

"I know," Siri grumbled, looking up from her datapad. "That was the hundredth time you've said so."

He stopped to glare at her then resumed the walk, back and forth. It was probably almost morning, as hours had passed since the 'capture' of their apprentices. He and Siri had gotten no sleep whatsoever. Obi-Wan was exhausted, though of course, he would only admit that to himself. His hand itched to activate the comm.

"Don't even think about it," Siri said sternly, not even bothering to raise her gaze this time. "I'm sure they have everything in control."

As if right on cue, the small comlink on his belt began beeping relentlessly. "Let's hope you're right," he muttered, plucking it off his belt. "Jaina?"

"_Master_," his Padawan greeted. She sounded worn out and dazed, but otherwise unharmed. "_We're in. They took Callista and Gaspard to another room; I don't know where they are._"

"And where are you? Have you made contact with Commander Jadonn yet?"

"_Working on it, Master. They separated us into rooms, I woke up and found myself here, heard voices arguing about where to place us_."

"Any sign of Ventress?" Siri asked, shoving the datapad into her knapsack.

There was a long pause, and Obi-Wan knew his Padawan well enough to sense the disappointment even though they were miles away. "_No_."

"You had better hope not, Padawan," He said sternly. "The moment Ventress sees you, the entire mission, the lives of millions and especially those of your fellow Padawans will be placed in jeopardy. _Focus_, Jaina. You have a job to do."

"_My apologies, Master_," Jaina replied quietly, now sounding fully awake after the rebuke. "_I'll keep a low profile. No sign of anything as of yet, but I'll make sure to keep my eyes open_."

"Trust your instincts, my young apprentice," Obi-Wan said. "Usually they're right. And you'll need them. Any suspicious lab, chemical delivery, equations—"

"_Just the usual then_," Jaina said wryly. "_Don't worry, Master. I won't let you down_."

He nodded. "I know. Siri and I will begin the search for Soara soon. Feel free to contact us if you need any help whatsoever. Remember what I told you, Jaina, no un—"

"—_necessary risks_," his Padawan completed, and he could practically see her grin. "_Master Siri, please tell him to stop worrying. This'll all be over before you know it_."

"Good luck, Jaina," Siri said, giving Obi-Wan a pointed look as if to say 'I told you so'. "Watch out for the other two, will you? And pass along a message to Gaspard for me."

"_Sure, Master Siri, what would you like me to say?_"

She cleared her throat and managed such a good impersonation that even Obi-Wan himself couldn't hold back a chuckle. "_No unnecessary risks, Padawan_."

Jaina laughed. "_Will do. Good luck, Masters. May the Force be with you_."

"Be careful, Jaina. May the Force be with you." Obi-Wan disconnected the link then turned to the sky, still pitch black, though now tinges of orange could be spotted on the horizon. "I would say we have an hour or two before all the residents start waking up. Shall we begin the investigation?"

"Soara's not nearby, that's for sure," Siri murmured, exhaling heavily. "I can't sense her anywhere, but she's not in danger either. It's confusing."

Obi-Wan pulled out his datapad. "General Verrader has given us a list of the families recently victimized by the kidnappings…perhaps we can start there, see if Soara has visited any of them."

Siri nodded. "That sounds like a plan. I just hate that we have to keep the factory's location secret when all these parents are probably worried sick about their children."

"We'll return them to their families as soon as this whole thing is over. Right now, the lives of millions are at stake."

"I don't need to be reminded, Obi-Wan," she growled wryly. "You haven't changed one bit in the years we've known each other…I don't know how Jaina can stand you."

"You watch," Obi-Wan said, chuckling and slinging his survival pack over his shoulder. "In maybe about ten years maximum, she's going to be exactly like me. Maybe even _five_."

"Please _don't_ even bring up the possibility," Siri retorted, getting into the speeder. "I'm fond of Jaina, but _one_ of you is difficult enough."

* * *

Obi-Wan and Siri stood outside a small bungalow in the suburban outskirts of Grens. This area was relatively untouched by the bomb raids but, like the buildings in the main area of the city, it looked neglected. Large cracks ran along most walls and all residences were the same gloomy shade of ochre, like everything else in Grens. Without preempt, Siri strode forward and began knocking loudly on the door.

"It's early in the morning, Siri!" Obi-Wan hissed. "The least you can do is not jolt them out of bed."

"They'll get over it," she said, waving a hand.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes as the front door opened a fraction. A pair of anxious eyes peeked out from the small slit.

"Good day, sir," Obi-Wan greeted politely, inclining his head. Siri subtly nudged him painfully in the ribs. Right, they weren't Jedi. "We were wondering if we could speak to you about a few things."

"You see, our children were taken last night," Siri said, dabbing the sleeve of her cloak on her eyes. "We have no idea where they are, but we were supposed to take them on a vacation. We went to the authorities and saw your names on the top of the list as the latest victims of a similar kidnapping. Please, oh, _please_, can you help us?"

The man behind the door sighed, and opened it wider. "Come in. My wife has just made a fresh pot of caf. We'll help you in any way we can."

"Thank you so much, sir, we really appreciate the help," Obi-Wan said, following him inside their simple home.

"Call me 'Dale'. Where are you folks from anyway? I haven't seen you before."

"Dale," Siri greeted, sitting down on the couch next to Obi-Wan. "I'm Siri, and this is my husband, Obi-Wan. We brought our children, Jaina and Gaspard here for a vacation to the Sapphire Seas but they went missing last night. We're from Coru—"

"Naboo," Obi-Wan interrupted quickly. "We're from Naboo. Had to get out of there, the kids were slowly getting miserable with the war almost on our doorstep."

"Ah, so you're part of the Republic, then," Dale said. "Odd, I was under the impression that Naboo was full of water. The Sapphire Seas are terrible, they're all dried up. Myra!" he called, turning away from them. "Myra, we have guests."

"We wanted to see something different," Siri said, offering him a pleasant smile then turning to glare at Obi-Wan as Dale called his wife. "You get sick of Naboo after staying there all your life. And we didn't really take any side in the war effort; we didn't want to endanger the children."

"Hello," Myra said quietly, sitting next to her husband and placing the caf and four cups on a nearby table. "I'm Myra."

Both looked to be in their early thirties, probably years younger than Obi-Wan and Siri. Dale had disheveled brown hair and haunted, pitch black eyes. A thick mustache rested atop his mouth, seemingly positioned in a permanent frown.

Myra's copper hair had been cut short, until her chin, dark shadows rested under her eyes and her cheekbones were jutting out, showing the true lack of food and sleep this broken family suffered. Her dark eyes swept them over. "You're not from around here."

"No, Madam, we're not," Obi-Wan replied, courteously taking the cup of caf Dale extended towards him. "We were hoping you would be able to help us. Our children were taken from us yesterday, and—"

"_Why _wouldyou do this?" Myra asked, her distressed tone barely louder than a whisper. "Our own daughter, Ilana, was kidnapped only very recently, and you have the _nerve_ to come here and ask us about—"

"Myra," Dale murmured, laying a hand on her lap. "Come on. Let's see if we can help them. They've done nothing wrong."

"She's only twelve," Myra whimpered, burying her face in her hands. "Can you imagine that? My baby's only twelve…"

"Myra, our daughter is fifteen," Obi-Wan said quietly. "Our son is sixteen. We understand, believe me. If there's any way you can help us…"

"The day after the kidnapping, there was this suspicious person who stopped by our house," Dale said, wrapping a firm arm around his distressed wife. "She had long black hair, was dressed in travelers robes…started asking us a ton of questions. If you're looking for a lead to begin an investigation, I'd say she's a good start."

"Long black hair…" Siri murmured, looking at Obi-Wan.

"Travelers robes…"

"What kind of questions?"

"About Ilana," Dale replied. "When she went missing, if we had any enemies, who knew about her…"

"And what did you say?" Obi-Wan prompted.

"We stopped schooling Ilana months ago, when the disappearances first started," he said. "We knew she was in danger, so we taught her ourselves, here. But weeks before she was kidnapped, she caught a bad case of the flu, so we had to bring her to the Med Center. That was the only time we brought her out of the house, I swear."

"The Med Center," Siri repeated, glancing at Obi-Wan. "Okay, and you told the stranger that? The woman who stopped by?"

"Yes, we did," Myra snapped abruptly, raising her gaze. "Now, please. My husband and I are late for work."

Obi-Wan inclined his head respectfully and stood, gesturing for Siri to do the same. "My apologies if we have disrupted your schedule. We are very grateful for your time."

They walked out of the house without further incident, Obi-Wan straightening his posture once more and stretching his arms. "That was more information that I thought we'd receive."

"And you didn't even need to wave the General Kenobi card," Siri said wryly. "I think I'm starting to like this mission."

"Very funny," Obi-Wan grumbled. "I don't wave that card very often, Siri."

"Wait!" Dale's voice abruptly broke the silence in the street. "Siri, Obi-Wan, wait!"

They turned around and found him running to catch up with them. "Dale," Siri greeted, alarmed. "What's going on?"

"There's…there's one more thing," he said hesitantly. "The mysterious person that stopped by…she…she was a Jedi. Please don't report me to the patrols, _please_! I wanted to avoid any more trouble, you understand."

Obi-Wan met Siri's gaze at the corner of his eye. "Did she say her name?"

"She did. Soara."

* * *

"No wonder they put up a new Med Center," Siri grumbled, using the Force to gently roll a gurney out of her way. "This place is no better than a garbage dump."

"I think the people of Limbus have been preoccupied, Siri."

Although he'd stated otherwise, Obi-Wan didn't necessarily disagree with Siri. The building was a tall, dangerously narrow excuse for a structure with no windows, only one main door and neglected walls, equipment…everything. He had to wonder how many poor citizens perished here since there was only one entrance, one place to rush the injured into this pathetic excuse for a hospital.

"It makes you wonder why some worlds still join the Separatists, doesn't it?" He remarked quietly. "You end up like this."

"I'm sure the worlds that _willingly_ joined the Seps have much more luxurious cities."

"True."

"This is the last floor," Siri stated, opening the door to a battered stairway. "I don't think we'll find anything here, Obi-Wan."

"Why don't you try to remain optimistic for once," Obi-Wan said dryly, raising his lightsaber and beginning to climb the stairs.

"And this is coming from you," Siri retorted. "Wow."

Obi-Wan gestured with a hand and the door at the end of the staircase slid open. A similar dark hallway awaited them. It had to be almost noon, yet the darkness was all-consuming.

"This is new," She said sarcastically. "Obi-Wan, come on. We're wasting time here."

"No, we're not," he replied, walking through the corridor and glancing inside each room to search for a clue. "Things would go a lot faster if you helped me out, you know."

Siri blew out an irritated breath and began searching inside the rooms on the other side of the hallway. "Seppies could be building a huge, deadly bioweapon, a Jedi Master and friend could very much be dying now because of it, and we're searching inside this dump. Perfect."

"Siri," Obi-Wan interrupted, raising his lightsaber at a large wall in the next room. "Come see this."

He heard footsteps from behind and suddenly Siri was next to him, her blue eyes wide in shock. "You…you think it's from—"

"Soara," Obi-Wan replied, folding his arms across his chest. "But I don't understand it."

They stared intently at the wall of an empty operating theatre, where several numbers and letters were scribbled in dark red ink. The writing was large and covered most of the wall yet it was difficult to read because of the layer of filth that covered it.

"Obi-Wan, look," Siri murmured, crouching over something underneath the message. She stood up again and held a gleaming cylinder in her palm. "This is Soara's lightsaber."

He exhaled heavily then pulled out his comlink. "I still don't understand…"

"2BR6CA1RG5ML69318," Siri murmured. "It doesn't sound familiar to me."

"Padawan, are you there?" Obi-Wan called into his comm, eyes still scanning the rest of the room. "Jaina?"

"_I'm here, Master_," his Padawan answered, sounding relieved. "_Sorry, I took long to answer, had to get away from the droids._"

"It's all right, Jaina, I need your help on something," he said, gazing at the wall. "Do you have time?"

"_Not much, but yes, I do_," she replied. "_What's wrong?_"

"We found a message on the wall, here in the old Med Center," Siri said, suddenly next to him. "We think it could have been from Soara."

There was a long pause. "_What does it say?_"

"2BR6CA1RG5ML69318," Obi-Wan said. "Does it sound familiar?"

"_That is _long…" Jaina murmured. He could practically imagine her staring at the floor, mind working furiously. "_Er…Let me break it down, that's 2BR, 6CA, 1RG, 5ML and 69318…is that right?_"

"Yes, that's correct, Padawan," he commended. "A number and two letters until the 69318…what do you suppose that means?"

"_I have a hunch…Give me a second, Master_," Jaina said. "_Gaspard_," she called, her voice now muffled. "_Gaspard! Hey, _Loahin_! Come here!_"

"_Jaina_," Gaspard's exasperated voice suddenly rang through the room. "_I need to get back to my—_"

"_Talesia_," Jaina interrupted. "_Mid-Rim, couple of parsecs away from the Trilon sector. It had a large toxic spill two years ago. Its hyperspace coordinates are 693…something. What are they?_"

"_69318, why?_"

Obi-Wan met Siri's stunned gaze. "Jaina, what's the significance of Talesia?" She asked. "I've never heard of it."

"_I didn't think so, it's relatively unheard of_," his Padawan replied. "_Talesia is known for its grenade exports, they have countless factories on the planet. Two years ago, shortly after the Battle of the Geonosis, one of the factories in the Capital City had a toxic spill, a large amount of residue had spilled into a nearby river. The citizens were unaware of it, because the chemical was colorless, odorless and tasteless. But three weeks after the spill, people all around the city started dying unexplainably, they slowly got exhausted and terribly weak, until_—"

"Jaina," Siri cut off, "as much as I appreciate the history lesson—"

"What Siri means," Obi-Wan said, glaring at her, "is that we're short on time as well."

"_Sorry_," Jaina apologized curtly. "_Anyway, we learned in biochem a couple of months ago that the chemical equation for that substance was 2 parts Bospridium, 6 parts caustic, 1 part regvis and 5 parts malium…or 2BR 6CA 1RG_—"

"—5ML," Obi-Wan completed, bewildered. "How do you remember these things…"

"_Well, Master, I _do_ have a reputation to protect_," she said wryly. "_I'm a hundred percent certain that that's Master Antana's message…which is not good_."

"Padawan," he said slowly. "Exactly _what _happened to those poisoned?"

"_It took long before any symptoms started to show_," Jaina replied, in a soft voice. "_Rapid cell deterioration. Those affected didn't realize it until it was too late. Their corpses were found...completely mutilated. Beyond recognition._"

"If the Separatists have somehow replicated that substance and turned it into a bioweapon…" Siri trailed off, gazing at Obi-Wan, anxiety in her eyes. "Jaina, listen. This means is that you're going to have to move faster, do you understand? Search the entire factory for _any_ evidence of this weapon. And start thinking of any theoretical antidotes, try to remember what they did on Talesia to stop the disease from spreading."

"_Yes, Master Siri_," Jaina replied ardently. "_I'll contact you as soon as I learn something_."

"Good, we'll do the same."

"At least we're getting somewhere," Obi-Wan said, pocketing the comlink. "But there is the problem of Soara, it still remains unsolved."

"Maybe we missed something," Siri murmured, planting her hands firmly on the wall. "Maybe there's something else Soara wanted to tell us with this message."

"If there was, I'm sure Jaina would have noticed…" Obi-Wan replied, narrowing his eyes at the wall. "Let's examine the ground level, we might have—"

"_General Kenobi_," Verrader's voice abruptly interrupted, coming from his comm. "_Are you there?_"

"Yes, General, we're here," Obi-Wan replied, bringing it out once more. "Has something happened?"

"_I have some information for you_," Verrader replied. "_I just spoke to one of my men; it was his shift at the Government Palace the night Master Antana went missing_."

Obi-Wan exchanged a glance with Siri. "What did he say?"

"_Soara paid a visit to the Government Palace the night she disappeared. She wanted to speak to the Minister of Defense, though, _technically_, General Mazlo holds everyone as his puppet_," Verrader said. "_She disappeared right after entering. I think the Palace is worth looking into_."

"The Government Palace?" Siri asked, wrinkling her nose. "Big, creepy building with collapsed walls, shattered windows, dusty doorways…"

"_Yes, unfortunately that's the one_."

"Of course it is."

"Thank you, Verrader," Obi-Wan said, giving Siri a stern look. "We'll search the place."

"_Let me know if you find anything_."

Obi-Wan disconnected the link and shortbusted the coordinates for the Palace to Jaina in case of any emergency. "I have a bad feeling about this," he murmured, beginning the long walk down the staircases. "I keep feeling like there's something we have missed. Something is wrong, but I can't pinpoint it...yet."

"Well, at least this new piece of information from Verrader gives us a heading," Siri remarked, stepping outside and onto the dead soil of Grens' streets. "Besides, I'm sure the Padawans will be able to figure that formula out in no time."

"That is, _if_ they're working together," Obi-Wan said, sighing. It was not right to confide these things in another Master, even in spite of his long friendship with Siri. He needed to choose his words carefully. "It's not that I doubt my Padawan, it's just—well, Gaspard and Jaina working together, all right, that has worked in the past. But with Callista in the picture…Jaina—"

"—isn't fond of her." Siri snorted. "Yes, I guessed that much."

"They used to be friends, but they're just too different now, this war has made them two completely different people. And when Jaina goes on missions with other Padawans she does not work well with, she tends to do things on her own. It's not always a bad thing, but…" He sighed. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

"She reminds me of someone," Siri remarked, giving Obi-Wan a significant look.

"I learned from my mistakes in the past, Siri," Obi-Wan said pointedly. "I wish teamwork was something I could teach Jaina, but some things just cannot be taught, even by me. I remember learning it the hard way with you when we were their age; you made some of my days _miserable_ before our friendship really began."

"Oh, I remember," Siri said, smiling. "You just answered your own doubts, Obi-Wan. Don't teach. _Let her learn_."

"Of course," Obi-Wan groaned wryly, getting into the speeder. "One of the easiest things about being a Master."

* * *

**Author's Note: Merry Christmas, everyone! I present you with Part 1 of my gift to all my readers, this chapter! (And I made sure to avoid a cliff-hanger this time!) Happy holidays!**

**Part 2 of my gift can be found in the Blurred Destinies website (click on homepage in my author page), it's a huge "Word Trailer" or SNEAK PEEK that contains spoilers on what you can expect from this story in 2011. _Huge_ spoilers there, but no worries, they aren't the bad kind! ;) Check it out at the website, and let me know what you think!**

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**This will be the last chapter I will be posting in 2010 (SNIFF SNIFF, OMG NOSTALGIA), but I will be posting the next one on January 2, 2011 to celebrate Blurred Destinies' Second anniversary here on this site! (I can hardly believe it's been that long already). Stay tuned and leave me a review, I absolutely love replying to them and seeing what you guys think! Enjoy the "Word Trailer", and hope you liked the chapter; the next one will be with the three Padawans and Jadonn, it's going to be very exciting! **

**Happy holidays, everyone, hope you enjoy my gifts to you guys! ;) Thank you for this AMAZING year, and May the Force be with you all!**

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**Shout-Outs!**

**I Keep Goldfish In My Bra:** I'm sorry! :D I'll try to avoid cliffhangers for a while, though I love them LOL!

Haha, thanks! That's exactly what I was going for! I wanted to lighten things up a bit haha!

Welcome to Blurred Destinies! I love replying to new readers, hope you stick around! :)

**DarthAbby: **It's all right! I left a review for you ;) I will, that's for sure!

**ClassicalBrunette: **Thank you! And yes, it was 8, LOL! I'm such a huge fan of Jude Watson, and the whole Siri/Obi-Wan dynamic is definitely one of my favorite things about her writing. I'm gonna try and add my own thing to their "friendship" in this arc!

WOW you are sooooo good! That line WAS meant to mirror Obi-Wan, I can't believe you spotted it, amazing! As the story progresses, I try and add more "Obi-Wan lines" and even some of his habits to Jaina's character, just to show how much she's growing up and how much he's influencing her as she grows up. I add little things like her bringing a hand to her chin when she thinks, the usage of certain words when she talks etc, etc to show that influence, but I didn't think anyone would notice! Amazing job, haha!

The next chapter will be full of it, and I'll be updating soon! ;)

**Guywhosings28: **Yes, it will! ;) We'll see the Padawans on their own in the next chapter, it's definitely going to be exciting. Hahaha! We won't see the Masters 'acting' for a while, but they will again! ;) Thanks! I'll update soon!

**Skywalker-SoloFamily :** Gaspard is going to be around for a while! :D Hahaha, that's great to hear! Wait till you see him in the next chapters ;)

I remembered them 'flirting' too when they were undercover in one of the Jedi Quest books and used it for my inspiration LOL. The Padawans' different reactions definitely represent their different personalities haha!

Of course she could ;)

I will be updating real soon, don't worry! :D

**Christina: **Hey there, welcome to Blurred Destinies! Thanks for the review, hope to see you around!

**Littlelionluvr:** HAHAHA I know right! ;) Thanks, that's what I was going for! Will update soon!

**Charliebrown1234:** Hey there! Awwwww shucks, thank you soooo much! But yes, I agree! As much as I like the politics, it's WAAAAAY too much. :| Callista's going to grow up a bit…I think LOL. But yes, for now she's supposed to be as annoying is she is, hahaha! Thank you! We'll be seeing Jaina, Gaspard, Callista and Jadonn soon!


	37. The Unexpected Ally

Chapter 36 - The Unexpected Ally

Jaina tossed the fiftieth hydrospanner into a nearby bin. A few hours had passed since her Master's last communiqué, and she'd been sorting all kinds of parts since. Jaina figured it would be best to wait until nightfall until she began any _real_ recon work. For now, she'd have to talk to the other children and find out if they knew anything…which was easier said than done.

She spotted Callista from the corner of her eye, conversing animatedly with four other girls her age. Jaina growled and cursed under her breath, but continued sorting out the different parts as the conveyor belt dragged on.

"Someone's having a fantastic day," an amused voice said from behind her.

"Actually I am, Commander Jadonn, thank you for asking," Jaina said wryly, not even bothering to turn around. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Finished early, I'm pretty fast," he remarked, now next to her and helping sort out the different parts. "Even your friend, the blonde one—"

"Gaspard."

"Yeah, him, even he's made some new friends."

Jaina glanced in the direction Jadonn was gazing and blew out an annoyed breath as Gaspard talked to two female Twi'leks and another human boy. "Yes, I noticed. Perfect. Good for him. This is a _factory_, aren't people supposed to be working?"

"You forget that out of all the children in here, it's only the four of us that are here because we want to," he said, tossing the last part into the basket. "The rest of the children are just trying to cope with the fact that they've been separated from their parents against their will."

Jaina turned around and sat on the conveyor belt as it stopped. "Yeah, well. I'd actually rather not be here myself."

A couple of minutes passed by, then Jadonn sat down next to her. "What's life like on Coruscant?"

"You're asking me about Coruscant?" Jaina asked, laughing and slipping off. "Commander, don't we have more important matters to discuss?"

"Do you want to know why you're not talking to anyone right now, unlike your two other friends?" He asked. "The way you talk—"

"What's wrong with the way I talk—"

"—don't interrupt. The things you talk about—"

"—I'm sorry if I can't—"

"—The way you _stand_—"

"Excuse me? Something's wrong with my posture?"

"You have this air of being _so_…pompous…well, maybe that's a wrong choice of words, but you—"

"_Look_. I spend half my time these days in a war room with my superiors or in the Senate with representatives or even just at the Temple, reporting to a bunch of intimidating Masters, and by intimidating, I mean _including_ _my own_. I don't always like it, but it's something that I need to deal with. I've been scolded by my Master for informal behavior before, Jadonn, so _don't you dare_ call me pompous."

"All I'm saying is that you're lucky the guards are droids, if they were real, living Seps, you'd have some trouble. You practically have the word _Jedi_ pasted on your forehead with your posture, your—your word choice and…just _everything_! And that odd braid thing, take it off, I honestly don't understand the style of the Core Worlds."

"It's _not_ a style, it's a—never mind. I can't take it off, Jadonn, so forget it." Jaina glared at him, knotting her Padawan braid and hiding it under her bun. "Coruscant is...fine."

"Now you're speaking like a teenager!" Jadonn exclaimed wryly. "I'm impressed!"

"I don't know, I don't really have the time to go around when I'm home. I usually focus on my studies, or help plan battle strategies."

"And now you're back."

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Jaina asked, raising an eyebrow. "We're wasting time, shouldn't we be—"

"What cantinas do you like eating in? What do you and your friends do in your spare time? How are your parents? What are the people like over there?"

"I usually eat in the Temple cafeterias, we _study_ or we _practice_, I never knew my parents, although Master Kenobi's been sort of like a father to me I suppose, and people are...I can only tell you how politicians and military personnel are, I don't really speak to anyone else. They're like me. Sometimes even more boring."

Jadonn shuddered. "I can imagine, I mean—"

"Hey, I just found out that one of the boys over there was sorting out parts for either grenades, missiles or other explosives. He knows the schematics since his father used to be an engineer for weapons and explosives. So much for a speeder factory," Gaspard said in a low voice, as he approached them. "Oh, sorry, did I interrupt anything?"

"No," Jaina growled. "And that doesn't help us _yet_, we need tangible proof before I can contact the Masters."

"Hey, Loahin!" One of the guys called from several meters away. "Come on, what are you doing over there?"

"I think I'm going to start calling you that as well when we get back home. Hey there, Loahin. It has a nice ring to it."

"No, thanks," Gaspard said, grimacing. "I'll keep trying to get any information, you...keep talking?"

Jadonn snorted. "Will do."

"We've been discussing important things too, you know," Jaina said quickly, as he began walking away. "This is useless. I'm sorry, Jadonn, but I really need to get a look around. Just because I can't talk to people, doesn't mean I'm worthless."

"If you want to look around, I may have someone who can help you," he said, grinning. "Follow me."

* * *

"This is Ilana," Jadonn said, gesturing at a younger girl with copper hair. She was intently reading a crumpled, filthy piece of paper Jaina guessed to have once been part of the HoloNet. "She just might be the only one in this factory who can stand you."

"Okay…exactly what am I supposed to do now? How does this help me?"

Jadonn leaned in, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "_Talk_."

"She's reading, I don't think she wants to be—"

"Do I need to order you to talk to her?"

"_You're_ going to _order_ me? You can't do that, we're—"

"Well, that seems to be the only language you speak. Now go."

She rolled her eyes and approached the girl, who was hugging her legs in an isolated corner. "Hi," Jaina said shyly, extending a hand. Jadonn made a sweeping motion across his neck beside her and she lowered the hand. "I'm Jaina."

The girl didn't raise her gaze from the HoloNet. "Ilana."

"How are you doing, Ilana?"

"Fine," she murmured, lowering the HoloNet and squinting at Jaina for a few moments.

Jaina looked at Jadonn, confused. Had she done something wrong? "Um…do you need help with anything? You have a cut on your hand, maybe I can—"

"I've seen you before," Ilana said, pointing a finger at her, and abruptly scanning through the HoloNet again. "You were here last week, you're—"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jaina interrupted, shooting Jadonn a frantic look. Her Master's orders had been incredibly specific, she _had_ to remain undercover. "Ilana, I've been here my whole life."

"But that's just so odd! You look just like that girl apprentice person of General Kenobi! They call her 'Negotiator Junior' or…something, I keep forgetting her name. I love reading about the two of them and Skywalker on the HoloNet!"

"Negotiator Junior, perfect…" Jaina grumbled, rolling her eyes as Ilana gazed at the paper again. She laughed nervously and casually took the HoloNet from her small hands and pretended to read it. "That's hilarious, Ilana. I'm sure those General people are far, far away from here. There is a war going on after all."

Ilana sighed. "Stop being such a killjoy. You never know. One day, they might save us from this terrible place."

Jaina glanced at Jadonn pleadingly. This was counterproductive on every level. "Hey, Ilana, I was wondering if you could show me around? The other people aren't very…friendly. Jadonn over there said you might help me."

"Sure," she shrugged. "You want to start here or at the sublevels and then work our way up?"

"Sublevels?" Jaina asked. Finally, she was getting somewhere.

"I spent a few months in the sublevels before they made me stop working there altogether. It's closed off, but I have another way in. That's probably why Jadonn made you come to me."

Jaina nodded slowly then shot Jadonn a grateful smile. "Sure, Ilana. Thank you, I really appreciate this."

"I hope you've got a strong stomach though. The sublevels aren't exactly an enjoyable place to walk around...sometimes even _crawl _around."

Jaina groaned. "I can't wait."

* * *

Jaina stepped out of the poor excuse for a refresher and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She began to make her way to the dormitory she shared with fourteen other girls but stopped when she saw a familiar figure sitting atop one of the large mechanisms. He was gazing past the thick layer of filthy transparisteel, at the moon.

Jaina glanced around, making sure she was alone then used the Force to leap next to him.

"_Blast_," Gaspard exclaimed, alarmed. "Oh, it's you. Do you have to be so creepy, Jaina?"

"Well, this _is _a recon mission." She offered her friend a smile and sat down next to him. "I know what we're doing here is really important, but I don't…I hate this." Jaina exhaled heavily, reaching over to pluck a piece of figda candy from the small pouch in his hands. "How did you manage to smuggle this in?"

"It was in the pack with my lightsaber," Gaspard replied, shrugging and tossing a piece in his mouth. "You never did have the silence or the patience for recon work."

Jaina answered his smirk with a soft shove. "And this is coming from _you_? Remember Balamak? We had to disable the security system so that our Masters could get into the control room and neutralize the comm jammer. You chose to melee an SBD from behind, which by the way, was such a _brilliant _move, and you actually were_ kind of_ successful, until—"

"—it crashed and started shooting everywhere." Gaspard wrinkled her nose. "I remember."

"I like to think I have more finesse than you."

"Not inside a cockpit," he said, giving her a smug look and handing her another piece of the candy. "You and QT have yet to beat my score."

"I don't see any cockpit here," Jaina retorted, Force-pulling two wooden sticks from a nearby bin. "I _do_ see two makeshift lightsabers."

"Jaina, you're insane."

"No, I'm bored."

"You had caf again, didn't you?"

"Nope, not tonight, I just need to pass the time."

"Why?"

"No reason." She smiled innocently.

"If we get injured, and knowing us, we_ will_, there's no med-droid here." Gaspard planted his hands on his hips.

Jaina pulled out the small medkit she kept inside her pack. "Any other excuses?"

Gaspard grinned and took one of the wooden sticks. "I guess not."

"Don't even think about it!"

Jaina and Gaspard whirled around and lowered their gaze to where Jadonn was standing below, both arms raised.

"What are you doing here, Jadonn?" Gaspard asked, casually twirling the stick with his fingers. Jaina jabbed him with her own stick and shot him a stern look. "_Ouch_! Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Gaspard, don't be cruel," Jaina held back a laugh. "What do you want, Jadonn? Thanks for the help earlier."

"Help?" Gaspard asked, turning to her. "What help?"

"I was just passing by and I overheard you two," Jadonn said quickly, before Jaina could have shrugged. "Practice spar? Here? Are you sure that's the wisest idea?"

"We know what we're doing, Jadonn, and velocities are usually more…silent than you'd think." Gaspard said, sliding off the mechanism and landing with ease, without a sound. He was only slightly shorter than the Limbus commander, but the Clone Wars had made him much more muscular. The boyish grin Jaina thought to have once been permanent was now gone, and her friend looked quite frightening; though she'd only admit that to herself. "We're fine here; you can go back to bed now."

"Gaspard," Jaina said threateningly, rolling her eyes and hopping off too. "Jadonn, just _go._ It's almost midnight. You don't want to be around us, trust me."

"Yeah, midnight is the worst time to be around us."

Jadonn shrugged. "I tried." He leaned on a nearby stack of crates. "Don't mind me. I just want to watch."

Both Jaina's and Gaspard's eyebrows rose. "Watch?" Jaina asked.

"Never seen a…what was it called? _Velocity_, I've never seen a velocity before. Please, go ahead."

Before Jaina could have retorted, Gaspard whirled around and swung, missing her shoulder by centimeters. "Of course, you're going to use your height and strength to your advantage," she murmured wryly, blowing her bangs off her face. "Typical."

"I'm surprised you're not used to it yet," he joked, slashing for her head this time, his laughter bringing a grin to her face.

Jaina parried the strike and lowered to the ground, swinging her leg in an attempt to trip him.

"That doesn't work anymore," Gaspard murmured, somersaulting above her and landing atop the nearby conveyor belt.

"That's what you think." Jaina grinned and extended a hand, sending a nearby hydrospanner flying until it hit the activation switch of the belt.

It abruptly moved forward until Gaspard began to lose his balance then Jaina Force-pushed the same hydrospanner, making the belt stop. Gaspard flew off.

"That lasted, what, all of twenty seconds," she murmured, grinning and extending a hand towards him. "I think you're losing your touch."

Gaspard's eyes suddenly widened. "Jaina—"

She caught a glimpse of Jadonn over her shoulder as he came towards her, but was not prepared for the strength of the kick as it sent her stumbling forward. "_What_ are you doing?"

"Think of this as a velocity without lightsabers," he replied, a smirk on his face. "What? Is it that impossible?"

"I can do this," she murmured to Gaspard, before he could have moved forward to help her.

"Don't be so sure," Jadonn mocked, kicking at her right shoulder and grabbing her left arm.

Jaina swung her right leg hard, almost causing him to lose his balance and tugged with both her hands, attempting to haul him forward. Jadonn stumbled but somehow managed to cartwheel, his kick barely missing her chin.

He smirked again, his face inches away from hers and answered her snarl with a snicker, as he grabbed her outstretched hand after a failed punch and twisted it behind her back. Jaina abruptly found herself shoved to the ground, with Jadonn's weight preventing her from getting back up.

"That lasted, what, all of twenty seconds," he whispered, his voice coming from right behind her ear. The hairs on the back of her neck stood. "_I think you're losing your touch_."

"This isn't over," Jaina grunted, fuming. "This is far from over."

"I never said it was," Jadonn chuckled and stood, then began walking away and into the darkness.

"Are you okay?" Gaspard asked, lowering next to her and extending a hand to help her up. "I think maybe we'll need that medkit of yours after all. Here, give it to me, I'll—"

"No need." Jaina cursed under her breath and took the hand, raising herself off the filthy ground. "I'm fine. Thanks, Gaspard."

"Don't let it burst your ego," he said, plucking a tiny stone out of her hair. "I'm sure everyone—"

"I'm _fine_," Jaina growled. "It's not my ego. I don't even have an ego; pride has no place in a Jedi. I was just…caught off guard, that's all."

"If you say so," Gaspard murmured, dusting her shoulders. "Just wish I had a holovid of that fight, you should have seen your…okay, sorry, I'll shut my mouth now. Night, Jaina."

She softened her gaze at his retreating form. "Say, Gaspard?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm…pompous?"

"What?" He threw her a confused look. "No, never. Formal, reserved, prim and proper, sometimes maybe even a little annoying, but nope, never pompous. Why?"

"Nothing." Jaina sighed. "Sweet dreams…Commander Loahin."

His boisterous laughter echoed in the chamber one last time before Jaina found herself engulfed in the silence of the dead night. She glanced at her chrono. It was past midnight.

Jaina raised the jumpsuit's hood over her head and began walking towards the far west side of the entire complex. It was a good ten minutes away from the dormitories but the same skinny Security Battledroids continued patrolling the area, causing her to duck and roll a couple of times into the shadows.

If this had been a battlefield, she could have easily taken those droids down with her lightsaber in less than twenty seconds. Maybe thirty. But _no_, she was on a recon mission and her lightsaber was hidden back in the dormitories.

Jaina blew out all her irritation in one long breath then dove behind the next stack of crates. Four battledroids walked past her, completely oblivious. She allowed herself a small smirk then slid under a nearby conveyer belt, following it until it reached the wall.

Jaina extended her hand and the cover of a ventilation shaft below the belt flew towards her palm. She lowered it to the ground then slid into the tiny space, grunting a string of curses that normally would have earned her a sharp reprimand from her Master. Jaina Force-pulled the cover back to her hands then replaced it, before letting go and beginning to slide down the narrow shaft.

_"It's times like these that make me appreciate being twelve," Ilana had whispered cheerfully when they were sliding down the same shaft hours ago._

_"Yeah," Jaina had groaned then. "Lucky you."_

She landed at the same intersection of shafts Ilana showed her during her tour. Jaina glanced at the four shafts extending into darkness and activated a glowrod. The conversation she had with Ilana continued to play repeatedly in her mind.

_"You're probably one of the few people that can squeeze in here," Jaina had said then, following her down the shaft to their left._

_"Nahh," Ilana replied, turning right after several moments of crawling straight ahead. "I'm just the only one curious enough to come down here."_

Jaina turned right into the next set of shafts, irritated at the soft clicking noises the glowrod made each time she crawled forward. Gaspard was right, _neither _of them were fit to do recon work. Their Masters, sure, but silence was just not something that came easy to teenage Jedi.

_"Sometimes curiosity can be a bad thing if you're not careful, Ilana," Jaina rebuked gently, following her small frame down the last shaft. Ilana had stopped then, and put her tiny, wounded hands on the cover of yet another shaft._

_"That's true," she said, and her steadfast, bright eyes were reminiscing, gazing at something Jaina could not see. She pulled lightly and the lid came off, causing light to spill into the shaft. Ilana prepared to drop into the room. "But other times, like right now, curiosity can be quite useful."_

Jaina pressed her palm against the cold steel of the cover, ending the memory and focusing on the present, as she always did before a battle. She tugged lightly and the lid came off, only this time there was no light spilling though. Jaina gripped the bottom of the hole she had opened and flipped herself to the ground, senses on high alert.

It was a small room filled with shelves of holodisks and files, things Jaina would have liked to examine earlier on, but she couldn't risk it in front of Ilana. According to her story, Ilana worked in this large storage room for several weeks, organizing it, though she'd never seen anything outside the room.

The droids suddenly sent her back to the main factory after her third week, and she never saw it again…until she remembered the lone ventilation shaft entrance in the room and saw another shaft below the conveyor belt in the main factory.

She had put two and two together and after days of exploring, Ilana had found the room again. She told nobody of the storage room, except Jadonn, who she had come to trust in the past month. According to both, nobody used the storage room unless General Mazlo or any other major Separatist commanders were in the factory.

Jaina slowly walked through the rows of shelves, her palms sweating. Something felt wrong here. She reached out towards a particular shelf with files labeled _Trial 1_, _Trial 2_, all the way until _Trial 8_. She flipped through the holobooks, alarmed at how most of the pages were on chemical formulas and failed experiments.

Deciding to skip ahead to Trial 8, Jaina flipped through the pages almost clumsily, her hands trembling. Towards the end of the holobook, Jaina found it. A sentence she had expected, yet hoped desperately not to see.

_2BR + 6CA + 1RG + 5ML. Success. Fatality in less than thirty minutes, depending on specimen. Missiles still in production. Inform General Mazlo immediately._

Jaina bit down on her bottom lip, stunned for several seconds. When she found herself able to move again, she reached for her ear comm, buried deep in her left boot. Jaina grimaced at the stench but frantically began trying to contact the Masters.

"Blast," Jaina hissed, shoving it back into her boot. She was too far underground.

It was real. The threat was real. And that meant only one thing: _millions_ of lives were in great danger.

"Okay, think, Jaina, _think_," she murmured, continuing to copy files in her datapad and glancing around swiftly for anything else that might be of use to them. Minutes passed and Jaina glanced at the door at the end of the room, the door even Ilana was too afraid to open. She slipped her datapad back into her small pack walked towards the door.

Jaina raised an unsteady hand then swung two fingers, heart pounding as it slid open. It was a dimly lit corridor, extending in both the left and the right with only a few red lamps to illuminate it. She slowed down her breathing and closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses. Hearing voices coming from the right, Jaina began walking down the hallway.

Abruptly the voices increased in volume, and she guessed the two people were beginning a heated argument. Before Jaina fully realized that they were heading in her direction and were probably only meters away, two cold hands reached out, wrapping around her mouth and neck and pulling her into a tiny closet.

Several heartbeats passed. Sweat trickled down her forehead.

The voices faded and Jaina pried the cold fingers from her mouth, struggling to get a glimpse of who had grabbed her. "_What are _you_ doing here?_"

* * *

**Happy Two-Year-Anniversary Blurred Destinies! This has been such an amazing experience, thank you so much to everyone who has been reading it. The characters have definitely grown since the beginning and there's not much I can promise about the future except this: they WILL continue to grow ;)**

**Thank you so much for all your support in the past two years, I hope you all had an amazing, fantastic, spectacular, magical holiday, and Happy New Year! Hope 2011 brings you nothing but the best :)**

**If you haven't checked out the Blurred Destinies "trailer" for 2011, you can check it out now at my website, .com, it's in the tab on the right side :) Trailer is definitely worth checking out, it's pretty exciting! **

**I know there are prolly a lot of questions that have been left unanswered in this chapter, but I'll be seeing you all reaaaaaaaaal soon again! And maybe _some _of them will be answered soon as well. May the Force be with you all!**

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**Shout-Outs:**

**ClassicalBrunette: ** Hahahaha that is soooo great for me to hear! I like it when people compliment the serious parts, but I enjoy lightening things up a bit sometimes with a funny line! Don't want things to get too heavy. I'm happy to hear some of these lines work! :D I added a few more in this chapter, but I think they're going to get a bit fewer and fewer as we go along, sad to say :(

Thank you! Things are going to start unfolding really soon!

Yes, that was an allusion to JA # 9, OMG you know which one too! When Obi-Wan and Siri get stuck in this school, hahaha yup that was it! I wondered if anyone would spot that allusion, excellent job! =)) Thanks! I'll be updating again soon! Happy New Year!

**Shane:** Hey there, happy New Year! Welcome to Blurred Destinies! :D Thank you, Obi-Wan and Siri will be back in the next chapter! ;) Thank you sooooo much, hope to see you again soon!

**DarthAbby: **It's all right, don't worry about it! You're very much welcome, can't wait to see where you're going :) Soara's…in a tight spot, but we'll hear from her later haha :)) Obi-Wan and Siri are going to have their own little adventure ;) Haha! Sometimes the 'least important information' turns out to be the most important! All right, see you soon! Enjoy the holidays!

**Charliebrown1234:** Awwww gosh, thank you so much! That made my day :) Those are three things I hold above everything else: moral lessons, characters and personalities and the plots…thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear you're enjoying everything! HAHAHA I wish! George Lucas reincarnated into a female would be awesome! Hahaha! Hope you had a great holiday! Thank you sooooo much for everything, 2010 was a great year for Blurred Destinies with all your amazing support :)

**Guywhosings28:** Heyyyyyyy now :P I like to think I'm not THAT boring :P HAHAHA! Hope this chapter was okay! It was full of Jaina, that's for sure LOL! Thanks! Oddly enough, I had such a hard time describing the settings with detail in this chapter…it gets harder and harder D: Oh well, thank youuuu! Happy holidays!

**I Keep Goldfish In My Bra:** She's going to become even MOOOOORE of a mini Obi-Wan as the story progresses! ;)

**Skywalker-SoloFamily:** Thank you, hope you had a great Christmas!

Siri/Obi-Wan teasing will be back in the next one ;) (a bit less though, things are starting to get serious! :O)Yes, she is!...gets annoying for the others, unfortunately =))Who knows, there's still time to pull it! ;)

**Thanks for all the support, see you soooon! Happy holidays!**


	38. Reconnaissance

Chapter 37 – Reconnaissance

"You are so full of yourself!" Jaina whispered furiously, leaping to ambush a nearby droid and shoving it to the ground. She forcefully pulled its vocabulator off before it could have said a word. "What gave you the _brilliant_ idea to follow me? What part of 'I can handle myself' do you not understand?"

"I'm sorry, but where I come from, 'handling yourself' does not include almost getting caught by a group of scientists," Jadonn said nonchalantly, kicking at the droid-head Jaina had just yanked off. He watched, amused, as she shoved the remains of the skinny droid into a nearby closet. "I don't know, maybe that's just me."

Jaina stood, but even at her full height, he was much taller. Not that height was ever something that intimidated her. "You have no idea what you're dealing with. The Separatists aren't just some kind of—"

"Really?" His eyebrows rose. "Last time I checked, _I _was the one who contacted the Jedi and informed them of the bioweapon in the first place. I think I'm more than capable to help you in stopping them."

"The limitations of my mission lie in confirming or denying the bioweapon's existence _only,_ I cannot exceed my mandate, Commander Jadonn."

"That's even lower than I thought you'd ever go," Jadonn murmured. "Allowing your superior's orders to control your judgment? Millions of people's lives are on the line here!"

"I'm very much aware of that, Jadonn, thanks for stating the obvious." Jaina lowered to a crouch and touched a finger to her lips as they heard voices again, coming from down the hallway.

Jadonn nodded curtly and pointed at a nearby glass wall. The door beside the wall slid shut and the voices abruptly lowered in volume. "They're inside."

"Once again, thank you Captain Obvious," Jaina grumbled, raising her gaze to the ceiling. She used the Force to lift the cover of a nearby shaft. "I've got this. Follow me."

Jaina used the Force to leap into the vent and turned around in the cramped space. She lowered her hands and gestured for Jadonn to hurry up. He nodded and jumped towards her, grabbing her arms as he neared the shaft.

"Ugh, I'm guessing you actually eat the muck they serve during meals," Jaina grumbled as she hauled him up, her arms painfully bent against the cold metal.

"I'll eat whatever they serve," Jadonn retorted, crawling through the vents next to her.

Much to Jaina's dismay, they couldn't stay one hundred percent silent as they struggled forward. Awkward, teenage knees and elbows continued to _clang _on the steel no matter how hard they tried to quiet down. Eventually, Jaina moved ahead, gesturing at him to move one by one so that they'd have more space. Thankfully, the clanging was greatly softened. She reached the end of the shaft and fluidly turned around in the tiny space, so that she was facing Jadonn.

"There." She squinted through the bars of the shaft's cover and spotted four figures in the laboratory below them. One of them was General Mazlo. They were gathered around a glass cage that held four rats, and the person with his or her back turned to them had a hood raised. Jaina's heart raced. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I'm so pleased General Mazlo saw fit to bring you here, to show you our success personally," one of the two scientists said, although the slight tremor at the end of his sentence made it clear that he was anything but pleased.

"I know you will be satisfied, milady," Mazlo grumbled, crossing his arms. "These scientists have been hard at work."

The second scientist nodded fervently and pulled out a large syringe. "It takes mere seconds for it to take effect on the rats, but for humans and most other species, the toxin takes slightly longer."

"We were unable to make it transmittable via air, but to compensate, we were able to manufacture millions of tiny insect-droids called Drochs," the first one mumbled nervously, pulling out a circular piece of metal. At the touch of a button on the scientist's wrist, it snapped on and was now standing on six legs, a needle sliding out of its head. "I am certain these Drochs will be effective. The disease also becomes contagious after a body has become a corpse. Decomposition processes make the bioweapon contagious."

The hooded figure nodded curtly, but didn't bother saying a word.

The scientist opened the top cover of the glass cage and dropped the Droch inside. It crawled extremely, frighteningly fast, stabbing the syringe into each of the rats. All three of the specimens immediately started convulsing inside the cage and seconds later, their veins turned a dark shade of brown. Jaina tensed as the squeaks echoed throughout the chamber until finally, they were silenced. She felt bile gathering at the back of her throat, and lowered her forehead to the steel of the vents.

"As you can see," the first scientist murmured, turning to the hooded figure next to Mazlo. "The toxin is effective."

The figure let out a low chuckle. "Indeed it is."

Jaina slowly closed her eyes, immediately recognizing the voice. "Oh, no..."

"What's wrong?" Jadonn whispered, reaching out for her shoulder. "What is it?"

Jaina just shook her head and exhaled heavily as the figure lowered her hood, revealing a bald, tattooed head. Ventress smiled wickedly at the two scientists, then at the rat corpses inside the cage. "I'm sure Count Dooku will be pleased."

"Yes, he will, Mistress," the first scientist said. "We have a ship ready in the upper hanger, and we can leave to see him immediately. I'm certain—"

A red blade abruptly sliced neatly through his chest, and before his partner could have blinked, he was crashing to the ground too. Both lowered to their knees, and Mazlo subtly turned away in disgust. Ventress leaned in and smiled at them one more time before shoving their bodies to the floor. "Thank you, Doctors, but it appears you are of no use to me now."

"No, no, no, no…" Jaina inhaled shakily. When she found her voice again, she turned to Jadonn. "We have to get out of here. _Now."_

He nodded at her, his eyes wide, alarmed. "I know the way out."

"I want the missiles ready to launch by tomorrow, General," Ventress continued, slipping her hood back on and gazing at the rats. "We cannot waste a moment."

"_Wait!_" Jaina hissed, grabbing Jadonn's arm.

Mazlo glanced around the room, refusing to look into the glass cage or at the two corpses. "We're following the original plan then? You haven't changed the targets?"

"As long as the Republic does not move its Mid Rim outposts, there is no need for us to change the targets. As for the neutral planets, it is time for us to send a message to all who have yet to choose a side."

Ventress slowly turned around and her icy gaze rose to the ventilation shafts, right where they were crawling.

Jaina jerked, and was about to jolt forward, when Jadonn's firm grip reached her wrist. "No," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "Don't move...she can't see us, Jaina...but she _will_ hear us_...__don't _move___..."_

She nodded slowly, feeling sick. Ventress continued to stare at their ventilation shaft. "She doesn't see us, Jaina..." Jadonn repeated, his grip still painfully tight. "She doesn't see us..."

Drops of sweat relentlessly rolled down her forehead. "Jadonn…"

Moments later, though it seemed like hours, Ventress turned away. "We must be careful, Mazlo," she growled. "I want those missiles launched as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning at the latest, General. We need to be quick."

"Milady?"

"_Just do it!"_

"Come on," Jadonn whispered gently, tugging at her wrist. "Let's go."

Jaina nodded halfheartedly then followed Jadonn down the shaft. He took several minutes struggling to turn left in the cramped space and in those minutes, Jaina continued to glance back, expecting to see Ventress's furious face. Eventually he made it and she followed, her knee painfully scratching the metal.

"I think there's a squad of droids under us..." Jadonn whispered.

Jaina sighed and, for the first time in hours, wished she hadn't left her lightsaber under her pillow. "How many?"

"I can't tell," he replied. "Six, maybe eight at the most. They all have red markings."

"Typical B1 squad." She shrugged. "Move."

"Move?"

Jaina crawled forward, awkwardly close to Jadonn, until she was positioned right atop the shaft's cover. She looked up at him and managed to offer a smile. "These guys are easy, but I'd still appreciate it if you watched my back. You know...just in case."

Jadonn nodded anxiously. "What about your front?"

"I already told you earlier, Jadonn." Jaina chuckled and lifted the cover, sliding it away. "I can handle myself."

She landed lightly behind the squad of battledroids walking and soundlessly hopped atop the shoulders of the one nearest to her. Before it could have reacted, she leaned backwards and shoved it to the ground, simultaneously pulling the head off. The other seven swiftly turned around and raised their rifles.

"Stop right there! Don't move!"

Jaina smirked, all weight shifting to the tips of her toes as she regained her intense focus. "I don't think so."

The blasterfire erupted a moment later, and Jaina leapt, landing feet first on the chestplate of the droid that had spoken. She dodged three shots aimed at her shoulder and lifted both her hands, Force-pushing the six droids away. She flipped backwards and held the droid in front of her as a shield.

"Hey! You're not authorized to do that! Don't—"

Jaina blew out a sharp breath as it deactivated and walked closer to the rest of the squad, hurling it at the remaining droids. She used the Force to pull another two droids towards her and dove forward, tumbling. She landed in between them both and jumped, kicking them to the opposite walls of the awkwardly narrow corridor.

The two droids stumbled forward and Jaina used the Force to levitate them in front of her, blocking all incoming shots. She then levitated the remains of the first droid she had decapitated and Force pushed the debris of all three droids at the one farthest away.

"Five down," Jaina gasped, narrowly leaping over a shot that would have scorched her thigh. She gazed at the two remaining droids still blasting away in front of her and felt the her heart rate increase.

Jaina leapt to the wall then flipped backwards, momentarily confusing the two. She kicked the first one in the chestplate then took one step back and performed a roundhouse kick with her left foot, striking the second droid. Jaina whirled around to kick a second time and knocked its head cleanly off. She turned and faced the first droid, grabbed its rifle as it frantically continued to shoot, then forcefully shoved blaster around, causing it to shoot itself.

Jaina stood in the middle of the filthy corridor, gasping for breath. "It's safe, Jadonn," she called. "Let's go."

"You're coming with me." A series of clicks sent her heart leaping out of her chest, and she cringed at the E5 rifle now prodding her lower back.

Jaina heard a light footstep, a crash, and an electronic groan then turned around to see Jadonn grinning at the droid head he'd just ripped off. "Hmm. I'd say it's a good thing I tagged along now, wouldn't you?"

"Sloppy." She raised an eyebrow at the droid. "How primitive of you, Commander Jadonn."

"I'd rather be sloppy than dead."

"And for the record, if I wasn't stupid enough to leave my lightsaber, I wouldn't have had a problem in the first place," Jaina retorted, though she couldn't stop herself from chuckling. "I _hate _recon missions. Have I mentioned that?"

"Only about a million times."

"Come on, help me stuff these guys into a nearby closet."

"You do realize that if the Separatists accidentally open one of these closets you keep shoving droids into, we're going to have some trouble?"

"Actually, I do realize that _when _the Seps notice that a squad of B1s has not checked into their data log, we are going to have some trouble. We need to move fast and get out of here, Jadonn."

He grinned. "Way ahead of you."

* * *

"_Where have you been?_" Gaspard roared, striding towards them as soon as they entered the chamber he shared with Jadonn. "It's almost morning; you disappeared last night, not even bothering to tell me where you were going! Do you have any idea—you know, I thought you'd been taken captive! I was ready to contact Master Siri if you hadn't shown up just now!"

"I'm sorry!" Jaina exclaimed, frustrated. "What are you even doing awake? It's the middle of the night! Look, where I've been is not important, we need to contact the Masters immediately, and tell them—"

"She was perfectly safe with me, Padawan Loahin, you had nothing to worry about," Jadonn said coolly.

Jaina turned her glare at him. "You stay out of this."

"I'm not willing to bet Jaina's life on your _overestimations_ of your abilities."

"Gaspard, _you stay out of this too!_" She stepped in between them, irritation rising. "_Listen to me!_ Gaspard, the bioweapon has been manufactured. We need to contact the Council right now."

His gaze abruptly softened and he turned his wide eyes to Jaina. "What?"

"They were unable to make it transmittable by air, only through liquid. So they also constructed these tiny mechanical 'insects' to run around the place and inject as many people as possible; these droid insects are one of two things the children in this factory have been building. The disease becomes contagious once the person ill has become a corpse, the body's decomposition process makes it infectious. The missiles that will transport these Droch-droids have already been built. They should be ready to launch tonight, at the latest tomorrow."

"Kriff..." Gaspard murmured, and Jaina would have smiled at the rare display of profanity if the situation were not so dire.

"I'd say this changes your 'confirming and denying' mandate, wouldn't you?" Jadonn asked, crossing his arms. "By the time your Council decides on a next move, Mid Rim worlds will be engulfed with fatal, crawling Droch-droids carrying this disease."

Jaina raised an index finger at him. "Now that's going a little too far, Jadonn. We need to at least contact Master Kenobi and Master Tachi if we cannot reach Coruscant. This is an extremely severe crisis, and we cannot make this decision without the consent of our Masters."

"Typical." Jadonn let out a long sigh then stepped out of the room. "I'm going to bed."

"There's not enough signal," Gaspard murmured, lowering his comlink. "I can't reach Master Tachi, how about you?"

Jaina reached for the small ear-comm her Master had given to her before their separation. She slipped it in and listened intently, although she got was static. "Blast. I can't reach him either. We are in deep poodoo."

"Deep _what_?"

"Forget it. Listen, Gaspard, there's one more thing..." Jaina exhaled heavily. "Ventress. She's behind it. She's here. Downstairs in the underground lab."

He stiffened considerably. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I can smell her stench from a mile away."

"I'm not going to let her get you again, Jaina, don't worry about her," Gaspard murmured intently. He smiled, attempted to lighten the mood. "Besides. I wouldn't want to be the unfortunate Padawan sliced to pieces after informing Master Kenobi his apprentice has been taken by Ventress."

Jaina chuckled. He knew her Master all too well. "I don't think you'd be _sliced. _Maybe just tossed around a little bit."

"Oh, that's comforting. Thanks."

"Listen, I need a couple of minutes to think. Go back to bed, I'll see you first thing in the morning."

"You need me to come with you?" Gaspard blurted, looking embarrassed after the abrupt question.

Jaina smiled gently. "No, Gaspard, usually thinking means time alone."

"Oh," he murmured sheepishly. "Sorry."

"I'll be fine, Commander," she insisted, already making her way to the empty factory proper. "Now go back to bed. You look exhausted."

Jaina stepped out and eyed the eerie shadows cast by each and every object in the factory, objects that were not fatal at all, but could be deadly when placed in the wrong hands. Unfortunately for them, they were already in the wrong hands.

"Who was she?" A voice asked quietly, jolting Jaina out of her reverie. "The bald, tattooed woman. That's the second time I've seen her here. Who was she?"

Jaina sighed as Jadonn sat on the conveyor belt next to her. "I thought you'd already gone to sleep. Her name is Asajj Ventress. She's a Commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems. She works for the Separatists, Jadonn, she's practically directly under Count Dooku."

He nodded slowly. "And you've met?"

"She's an acquaintance," Jaina murmured bitterly.

"Why did you...why were you like that earlier? I've never seen you look so…"

Jaina exhaled slowly and continued staring at the moons. A few moments of silence passed. "The war has been...there are no words to describe how difficult this war has been, Jadonn, but there were only a few moments in the past two years where I honestly thought…I was going to die. The most recent of those moments was because of Ventress."

"Why...?" Jadonn asked quietly, his dark eyes wide.

"I don't think you heard about it, the incident was kept quiet, but…a couple of months ago, the Jedi Temple was breached. The Separatists were able to cut the power in the entire Precinct. Then they sent two legions of droids inside the Temple while Ventress was to complete a mission of her own."

"And...what was that mission?"

"We later realized that it was the same as a certain bounty hunter's mission: to take something from within our most highly secure vaults - a Holocron. Ventress failed to steal it during her invasion, but within a few weeks, bounty hunters broke in and almost succeeded."

Jadonn continued to stare at her intently, though she would not meet his gaze. "What does this have to do with you?"

"I was separated from my Master and my team during the invasion, when I tried to help Callista. Ventress cornered me and used me, she needed a Council member to open the vault and Master Kenobi conveniently had an apprentice...oh, and she sort of despises him." Jaina chuckled wryly. "I guess she thought it was the perfect opportunity to succeed with her mission and finally get her revenge."

"But you escaped? Otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Jaina tucked her hair behind her ears. "I had help. A lot of it. Master Kenobi and another Jedi Knight came for me, just as she wanted them to. But they were able to help me escape. The whole experience is just...and now, we're in the same building...she _cannot _see me. The mission is going to be—she is going to—"

"You've certainly got quite the number of odd friends," Jadonn murmured wryly, slipping off the belt and flashing his toothy smile. "She's not going to find you, Jaina, don't worry about it."

"You see, this is why I don't mind being hated by my peers." She blew out a sharp breath and hopped off the belt too. "Not having that many friends seems so trivial to me, especially with everything happening. If being annoying, and by-the-book, and studious, and boring, and, and...and _pompous_ is going to help me survive this war for even just a minute longer, then I'm willing to give up being liked, Jadonn. I really just could not care less."

He opened his mouth to speak then closed it again.

"I'd hoped for this...there was nothing I wanted more than to be a Padawan, than to be his Padawan, and I got it. But...I guess there are just some things that I need to sacrifice in return. This is one of them."

Jadonn surprisingly smiled at her. "What a huge sacrifice. Being socially retarded around teenagers."

"It's merely one out of several." Jaina found herself laughing. "It's worse than you think, you know."

"Sure it is."

"It's worth it, in the end. I don't know why I just dumped all this on you, Jadonn, it's just that this mission _requires _me to interact with people my age. I'm not good at it, but the pressure is still the same...it's terrible. It's always terrible. And now I find out that the bioweapon is real and that Ventress, of all people, is behind it." Jaina shuddered and sat back down on the conveyor belt. "What a great night."

"Jaina, I don't know what I can say to make you..." He trailed off and his eyes widened at something behind her.

She whirled around and her heart stopped at the sight of the eight droids approaching them. Jaina subconsciously reached for her utility belt, where she found nothing except an almost-empty pack of figda candy. Second time she'd regretted leaving her lightsaber.

"Jadonn Verrader?" The droid nearest to them asked, raising its blaster. "The Chairman of the factory wishes to speak with you. You need to come with us."

"SBD's..." Jaina whispered, eyes darting from one Super battledroid to the next. "The signal receptors are inside their torsos; without it, they are useless. If we can—"

"Not this time, genius," Jadonn interrupted. "You'll blow your cover. I'll go with them, see you in the morning."

"Don't call me a—you're being ridiculous! _Jadonn!"_

"Contact your Masters, Jaina," He murmured urgently, already beginning to follow them. "If it's all right with you, I'd rather not stay long with these guys."

"Jadonn—"

"_Go!"_

Jaina glared at the droids as they disappeared with Jadonn into the darkness, and she furiously kicked at a nearby tool kit, oblivious to the hundreds of children sleeping. After she counted to ten and slowed her breathing, as her Master always instructed whenever she felt frustration, she turned around to head back to her chamber.

Jadonn was in danger. It was more than just a possibility that one of the Separatist squads had seen him on their way out of the sublevels. But why hadn't they taken her as well when she was with him?

Jaina flipped her ear-comm over in her hands absently, watching the still night. Deciding to try her luck one last time before she went to bed, she switched it on and slipped it into her ear. The static lasted for several seconds again but before Jaina could have turned it off, she heard a familiar clipped voice.

"_Jaina? What's wrong, do you have something to report, Padawan?"_

"_Master!_" Jaina breathed, jerking off the belt._ "Master! _Thank the Force! Sorry for the late hour, I thought it best to inform you of the situation immediately."

"_It's all right, Jaina, we were awake_." Siri's voice came from her comm. "___Your Master and I have been waiting outside the Government Building for…almost five hours now._"

Jaina frowned. "Do I dare ask why, Master Siri?"

"_It's irrelevant, Padawan,_" Obi-Wan said briskly. "___What have you discovered?_"

"Okay so basically, there is an entire compound underneath the factory that has been manufacturing the bioweapon — it _exists. T_wo scientists have been working on it for some time now. But—well, never mind, they were killed. The children here have been putting together missiles and these tiny droid insects called Drochs that the Separatists plan on using to spread the bioweapon on different Mid Rim worlds. They were unable to make it transmittable via air, the toxin remains in liquid form, so they need the Drochs to use built-in syringes to infect people. It becomes infectious through corpses, something to do with decomposition processes, and I'm guessing they got the name Drochs from the parasitic insects that burrow under a being's skin, found on the planet—"

"_Jaina!_" Siri interrupted. "___We don't__ need to know where they got the kriffing na—!_"

"_Slow down, Padawan_," Her Master's voice was quiet, almost anxious. "___This…is bad._"

"_Obi-Wan Kenobi, you are infuriating __when you state the obvious."_

Jaina exhaled heavily. "I'm guessing there's still no sign of Master Soara?"

"_No, and we've been attacked by quite the number of droids_," Siri replied irritably.

"_Do you have any idea who is behind this, Padawan?"_

"General Mazlo and..." Jaina gulped. "And Ventress."

The silence seemed to stretch on, and she could vaguely picture her Master's frustrated, concerned expression miles and miles away.

"_Perfect_," he grumbled.

Siri's voice grew oddly faint, as though she was now a few meters forward. "_They'll be fine, Obi-Wan. The Padawans can handle it."_

"_Oh, I have no doubt about that_," Her Master said flatly_. _"___Listen to me, Jaina, I need to give you a new set of orders. We're moving to Plan B."_

"Ah, so you _have_ had a Plan B all this time then?"

"_No. But I told you before we separated that I'd come up with one. You need to get the launching schedules, how far along are the missiles?"_

"There might not be a need for a schedule, Master. The twenty missiles are all complete and ready for launch, they were discussing it earlier. Most Droch-droids have been finished as well. They spoke of launching tonight or at the latest, tomorrow morning," Jaina murmured.

"_Blast it. We're running out of time, then."_

"Master, how about a Plan C?" She asked, the idea hitting her. "Have we considered the possibility that maybe Master Soara is being held here in the factory? I wouldn't be surprised if it was Ventress herself keeping Master Soara captive."

Master Obi-Wan's voice had turned contemplative, and she guessed that he was now weighing the situation. "_We have considered that, Padawan, yes. In fact, I think that might be our best option now. I have great faith in the three of you, but these Drochs threaten too many lives. This bioweapon is now our top priority. Siri and I will investigate the Government Palace, as suggested by General Verrader's intel, then we'll head over there to help you immediately."_

"Yes, Master."

"_In the meantime, get some sleep, even for just a few hours. You're going to need your strength tomorrow. We'll be there by morning."_

"Yes, Master."

Silence. "_Is there something else you wanted to tell me, Jaina?"_

She hesitated. "Um...No...Master."

"_If you say so_," Master Obi-Wan said, though he still sounded suspicious. She would never have gotten away with this if the conversation were face to face. "___Proceed with caution, my young Padawan. You are in grave danger. I'll contact you every two hours to check on your progress, keep your comm unit close._"

"Yes, Mast—every _two hours_?"

"_Yes, Padawan, every two hours. If you are asleep and don't answer, we'll assume the worst, rush to the factory, ruin your cover, and possibly destroy any chance of ever finding—"_

"All right, Master, I get the picture." Jaina wrinkled her nose. "_Every two hours. Got it."_

"_May the Force be with you."_

"And with you. I'll see you soon, Master." Jaina disconnected the link and immediately hopped off the belt to find Gaspard and Callista.

The door to Gaspard's chamber slid open and she found Callista lying on her stomach on Jadonn's bed and Gaspard leaning against the opposite wall, looking restless, annoyed even.

"Jadonn's in trouble." Jaina stared at Gaspard, her eyes pleading.

Gaspard pushed himself off the wall. "I heard. But Jadonn's not our mission."

"You— you were eavesdropping! Blast it, Gaspard, don't let your—your dislike of Jadonn prevent you from doing what is right," Jaina exclaimed. "He helped me, he helped _us,_ and without him, we wouldn't be where we are right now with the information that we have."

"Really?" Gaspard raised an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that. I think one way or another, we would have found a way to perform our clandestine operations, Jaina. And I think _you _should not let your—I don't even know what it is, your _respect_ for Jadonn, your _trust_ in Jadonn, prevent _you_ from doing what is right."

Jaina stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"Uh-oh," Callista murmured, rolling over to her back and propping herself on her elbows. "I want to see this."

They glared at each other for a few more moments, each stare equally as aggravated, equally as angry. The fourteen years of friendship did not ease the tension; oddly enough, it gave both Jaina and Gaspard the strength, or the stubbornness, not to back down.

"Okay, I hate to break it to both of you, but you guys are going to waste hours," Callista said, sighing and standing up in between them. "We need to figure out what we're doing next."

"I'm going after him, Gaspard," Jaina stated matter-of-factly, crossing her arms. "I went underground to gather intel, he never should have even been there in the first place, it's my fault."

"Yes, you did, and you went _alone,_ I might add, but that does not mean that you are responsible for what has happened to him, Jaina," Gaspard said, folding his own arms across his chest and standing in front of the door.

She lowered her arms abruptly, exasperated. "Yes, it does! Step aside, Gaspard."

"He could have been taken for some other reason. He could not have been taken at all. You don't have enough information and you're making a fool's mistake, Jaina! We are _Jedi_!"

"He was taken, I think those droids made it very much clear," Jaina growled. "You have had this unsaid competition with Jadonn since the beginning, Gaspard, I don't understand it, but it has to stop. You're right, we _are _Jedi. And if there is anything I have learned as a Jedi, it is that our duty is to the innocent, to the defenseless. And right now, that includes Jadonn. I'm going after him."

Gaspard opened his mouth to retort then closed it again, maybe realizing that she was right.

"I'm going after him, Gaspard," Jaina repeated quietly. "You can get out of my way...or you can help me. I'd really appreciate that."

He turned to the ground and exhaled heavily, his broad shoulders dropping. "I can't."

"I..." Jaina shook her head in disbelief then stepped around him. "Somehow...I didn't expect you to. Good night, Gaspard."

"Jaina, the Masters will be furious when they find out," Gaspard exclaimed desperately.

"No, they won't. I'm moving on to Plan D." Jaina shook her head and began to close the chamber door. "I'm sorry."

Jaina remained in front of their room for a few more precious moments, breathing heavily, her hands on the cold steel. So this was what things had come to. Regardless of her best friend's irrational decision, Jaina knew what she had to do.

It wasn't only Jadonn's time that was limited, but also the millions of inhabitants on the different worlds that had been targeted. She wished she could wait for her Master and Master Siri, but at the same time, she knew that wasting that amount of time would only make attempting to stop Ventress more difficult.

It was about stopping the Separatists from firing the missiles, _not _about saving Jadonn or confronting Ventress.

Jaina nodded to herself. Her intentions were in the right place. At least, that was what she needed to continue telling herself for the next hour or so. When Jaina turned around to make her way back to the underground lab, she stiffened, as a small figure with her hands on her hips blocked the way. The figure lifted a familiar shiny cylinder.

"So, Jadonn's missing now? What's the plan, miss 'Negotiator Junior'?"

* * *

**Hihi sorry for the cliffy again =)) I know they must be getting annoying, but this is the last for a while. The ending of this chapter just felt right :)**

**I know it's not an excuse, but I'll explain anyway. So I originally wrote a completely different chapter from Obi-Wan's point of view then a new idea for a chapter popped into my head from Jaina's perspective so I completely rewrote it…then I wasn't happy with some parts so I re-re-wrote it. **

**Which took sooooo much time and I am sooooo sorry! Then I graduated High School (YAY hehe) and the rehearsals for that took time too. So ughhh here I am, more than three months later. Sorry again, guys! Hope you're still out there :(**

**Shout-Outs:**

Shane: Yes, she is! Haha thank you!

RogueJedi96: Thank you sooooo much! I always enjoy welcoming new readers to Blurred Destinies, so welcome hehe! Thank you so much. The cliffhangers might continue for a little while longer, sad to say. But I hope they're worth it! I'm very happy to hear you're satisfied with Jaina. I hope you stick around, and yes, Obi-Wan will be back for a while ;)

Anonymous: Sorry to disappoint :( Then again, Gaspard is probably just as disappointed as you are hehe! ;) Not to worry, Gaspard will be around for a while! And yes, HAHA I would say Figda Candy is a must-have for everyone their age ;) I will update soon again!

Charliebrown1234: I know right, ouch! Poor Jaina haha. We'll see, but I think a lightened-up Jaina would make the story a tiny bit more boring ;) I'll be updating soon!

DarthAbby: Yes, he has! (although Jaina would never admit that ;)) You are really so sweet, and this review really made me smile. Thank you so much for everything, it's people like you that make me so excited to update each time :)

Skywalker-SoloFamily: Sorry, another cliffy :D Hihi, but they'll end soon, I promise!

No, not at all, I'm sure she reminds the other characters of a protocol droid too! (GAASPARD! ;) haha!) Yup, unfortunately for poor Jaina, Jadonn was very much making fun of her. He's probably just the only one that has the guts to mock her to her face. Then again, I guess it's the qualities other people mock her for that actually make her who she is, make her the Padawan that she is.

Thank you, I hope you weren't expecting Gaspard ;)

Littlelionluvr: It's too bad nobody's there to tell Jaina what you just said ;) Hehe. Maybe she'll realize that eventually! Thank you, the suspense will just continue to build up, that much I can promise you :)

Mrs. Kenobi: THANK YOU! And WELCOME to Blurred Destinies! :D Hi there!

Thank you, I loved writing them! But because I loved the book so much, I was worried about writing it here, it's good to hear that I didn't mess up haha. (Stealth and Siege are AMAZING. Karen Miller inspired me to write this story.) Thank you! I hope to see you around, I'll update soon! Oh, and I love the pen name ;)

Guywhosings28: Yup, actually it is, hahaha. I'm happy to hear that! Next to Jaina, it's Gaspard's character that I worry about. But he is definitely going to be sticking around. And as for Jadonn, intriguing is the right word ;)

I hate cliffhangers just as much as my readers do! But they will end soon! :D

Marc: Thank you so much, Marc! Hope to see you around, I'll be updating soon!

Catlover friendly-but-xplosive: I'M SORRY! Haha! Hey, I didn't tell you to stay up!

******I will be updating soon, this I promise! I have already started the next chapter :) Hope you're all still there :(**


	39. Treachery

**Overdue Author's Apology!**

**Holy cow...it's been more than half a year...I am so sorry. Words cannot express how guilty I feel for making you all wait this long when you've been so supportive! I hope you're all still there but if you aren't, I completely understand! Rest assured, I have not abandoned this story, and I never will.**

**On a happier note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLURRED DESTINIES! It is now officially three years old, OMIGOSHHH...To those that have stuck with Jaina since the beginning, I cannot thank you enough! More chapters to come, the war is not over yet...**

* * *

Here is a quick summary of the previous chapters since I took SOOOOOO long in updating, those of you left have probably already forgotten the story. (Please excuse the informality of this summary hehe)

_Jaina, Gaspard, Siri, Obi-Wan and Callista (who was technically just a stowaway) were sent behind enemy lines to the planet Limbus, where the Council believed Jedi Master Soara Antana was being held by the Separatists. Jaina, Gaspard and Callista were doing recon work at a factory where the children of Limbus were being held, putting together missiles for a new CIS Bioweapon under the command of Asajj Ventress. Meanwhile, Siri and Obi-Wan scoured the city, searching for any hints on Soara before being led to the Government Palace. Aiding the Jedi are two members of Limbus's local militia, General Verrader and his son, Jadonn, and a twelve year old prisoner, Ilana. In the previous chapter, Jaina explained the situation to the Masters, that the bioweapon's missiles were prepped and ready for launch on several key Republic systems. To make matters worse, Jadonn is captured._

* * *

Chapter 38 - Treachery

Obi-Wan pushed himself flat against the wall and Force-pulled the alley's only glow lamp to his palm. He rapidly stabbed it to smoking pieces then lowered to a crouch as the patrol of droids rounded the far corner.

They were in a narrow alley right across the street from the infamous Government Palace and had been there for hours, doing some recon work while preparing to breach it. This was the first patrol to actually inspect the length of the Palace's main avenue, but the fourth to come from the street perpendicular to it. The silence of the night seemed to amplify the metallic footsteps.

"Nothing here, Commander," one of the droids said, before muttering. "As usual."

The droids continued their stroll and eventually the clattering footsteps were engulfed by the quiet night. Obi-Wan rose from the ground, eyes on the black, starless sky. He missed having his Padawan by his side, and was certain that if she were here, she would have been commenting on the droids already.

Fortunately, Siri shared many similarities with his apprentice, the most obvious being her sharp mouth. She glanced at the smoking remains of the glow lamp. "Smooth. Very smooth. Come on, I think we've waited long enough, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and followed Siri across the street until they were standing directly in front of the Palace. Majority of the windows were shattered, and the long shadow cast by the huge building was unnerving. The paint was graying and some of the walls had actually collapsed, no doubt caused by the bomb raids the Separatists had conducted early in their occupation of Limbus.

Siri glanced back at the avenue then swiftly used her lightsaber to cut the main door horizontally in half. She Force-pushed the top half away and her lightsaber was back on her belt within seconds. Obi-Wan reached out to touch the panel next to the door and the bottom half slid open.

He gave Siri a look. "Smooth, Siri. Very smooth."

She scowled at him but followed inside the dark building. They were inside some sort of atrium, and about fifty dusty desks lined the long space, leading up to a grand staircase. Atop the staircase was a small door with intricate designs.

"I'd say that's our best bet," Siri murmured, gesturing at it.

Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber. "We need to have a look around first. Check those desks, I'll take these."

The purple light from Siri's saber began to fade, and Obi-Wan began opening the cabinets and drawers below each desk. A thick layer of dust rested atop the marble floor and each piece of furniture was now a dark shade of gray because of it. He jolted back as a rat climbed out of one of the drawers he opened.

"There's nothing here!" Siri's growled, meters away. "They must have been meticulous. All the desks are empty."

"There must have been something here that they didn't want anyone to find," Obi-Wan said, shutting the seventh cabinet with the Force. "Siri, we need to—"

A blast abruptly incinerated the drawer he'd just sealed and Obi-Wan whirled around, lightsaber already raised.

"Obi-Wan!" Siri yelled. "We've got a situation!"

"I noticed!" He retorted, sending two blasts back at the figures as his eyes darted around the room. "I count eight, Siri, you need to-"

"I know how to count!" She barked. "I'll take the left flank, cover the right!"

Obi-Wan smiled wryly, this was one of the reasons he and Siri worked so well together. He whirled a nearby chair at the man closest to him, neatly knocking him out and continued deflecting. All eight men were in similar black garments, with black masks covering their faces. He lifted the remaining three off the ground with ease, and hurled them at the wall. Obi-Wan glanced at Siri, who had also successfully knocked her assailants unconscious.

"Who sent them?" Siri demanded, walking briskly towards him.

He remained silent and lowered to a crouch in front of the man breathing heavily in front of him. Obi-Wan inhaled deeply, sensing a familiar presence and grabbed the mask. "Verrader."

The Limbus general sneered. "Took you long enough. You're already too late."

"What are you talking about? You know, the smart thing to do would be to talk." Siri grabbed his shoulders, her voice low and deadly.

"You're too late..." Verrader violently shoved her away, and struck at his own neck before either of them could have stopped him.

Obi-Wan grabbed his hand and grimaced at the small needle at the center of his glove. "We can't waste a second," he murmured, lowering Verrader's corpse to the floor. "We need to warn the Padawans."

"Way ahead of you," Siri said, her wrist comm already out. "Gaspard? Gaspard, can you hear me?"

"_Signal's...choppy...but I hear you, Master Siri? What's the situation?_"

"We've got an emergency, you need to find Jaina and Callista and get out of there, do you copy? I'll shortburst you coordinates, we need to rendezvous immediately."

"_Copy that, what happened?_"

"We've been betrayed," Obi-Wan said, exhaling heavily. "Verrader has been working for the Separatists, we need to renew our strategy if we're going to stop them from finishing the bioweapon."

"_Oh...oh, _kriff_._"

"What's wrong?" Siri asked urgently.

"_I tried to stop her—she wouldn't—you know how she is—she kept—Masters, I didn't know what else to do, I—_"

"Gaspard..." Obi-Wan trailed off, his heart pounding. "Where's Jaina?"

"_She's gone, Masters...she left to find Jadonn_."

* * *

"You're going to need my help eventually, Jaina," Ilana murmured innocently, following her down the hallway, one step behind. "I bet you don't even know where you're going."

"I'm surprised. You claim you know me so well yet it seems as though you don't know me at all." Jaina stopped abruptly and raised a hand in front of Ilana. "Your underestimation offends me."

"Well, you _were_ smart enough to leave your lightsaber under your pillow. Not very original, Jaina."

"I didn't think anyone would...Never mind. But thanks for bringing it to me." Jaina reached out towards a circuit box and took out a small laser cutter from her belt. "I'm sure you've already noticed that I'm here on a reconnaissance mission, Ilana. I'm not here to chop droids to bits, fun as that may be."

"I'm disappointed, but yeah, I did notice. So what are you doing?"

She carefully cut a thin yellow wire near the top left corner of the circuit box then cut another blue one at the bottom. "Hold this, would you," she murmured to Ilana, handing her the cutter. "I just hotwired the surveillance cams of the next three corridors and put them on a loop. We have thirty seconds. _Move_."

Ilana began rushing down the corridor, Jaina at her heels. So far so good, the two patrols she'd destroyed hadn't been discovered yet. Perhaps the closets weren't such a bad idea.

"Jaina, there's nothing here," Ilana panted, almost completely sprinting. "Just more creatures in cages. They must have every species down here. How many test subjects do they need?"

"Jadonn has to be here, no ship has left the compound yet!" Jaina hissed, stopping below the last surveillance cam. She rested a hand on her lightsaber hilt and ran the other through her hair.

Ilana opened her mouth then closed it again, turning away. "I'm...I'm sorry I can't be more helpful."

"Don't," she exhaled heavily. "You've been more than helpful, Ilana. You shouldn't even be down here."

"Jadonn was my friend too." Ilana leaned on the nearby wall but jerked forward a second later.

"What is it?" Jaina demanded, grabbing her lightsaber off her belt.

"Nothing...but, Jaina, look..." Ilana turned around to gaze at the wall. "There's a small panel here...could pass as a control panel for the ventilation cooling systems but I don't think...Do you think you can hotwire it again? Maybe there's a door."

Jaina chuckled and swiftly ignited her lightsaber then sliced the panel in half. She moved two fingers and part of the wall slid back. "Sorry. Not really as patient as my Master yet."

"Works for me." Ilana grinned.

Jaina stepped into the dim room, lit only by her lightsaber. It was small, and kept just one shelf on the far end. "More files," Jaina whispered, disappointed. "Jadonn's not here."

"What do you think is in the datapad?"

"Chemical formulas again," Jaina murmured, her eyes swiftly scanning through them. "Wait a minute...it looks like one of scientists was secretly working on an antidote...behind Ventress's back."

She lowered to a crouch then gazed at the lower shelves, which contained vials and beakers with murky liquids of all colors. There was a large machine at the bottom shelf and Jaina stared at it for several moments trying to figure everything out. She bit on her bottom lip then stood up again. "Recon and chemistry. I love this mission."

"We should get out of here," Ilana said urgently. "If Ventress or any of the Separatists discover this room, they're probably going to destroy everything inside. We can't let them find this information until your Master has it. We need to get far away from this room in case we're..."

Jaina nodded and picked up the chip inside the datapad. "Good call, Ilana, but I'm taking the formula for the antidote just in case. Let's go."

They stepped out of the room and Jaina used to Force to replace the door then eyed the smoking panel. "Maybe slicing it in half earlier wasn't the best idea..."

"You think?"

Jaina rolled her eyes then began walking down the corridor. "Come on, we still need to find Jadonn and get out of here."

"Exactly how big is this compound anyway?"

"Huge." She slowed down to a stop as the ear comm her Master had given her began beeping. "Yes, Master?"

"_Molator, do you copy? This is Cortosis, repeat, Molator, are you there?_"

"Ga-Cortosis?" Jaina frowned. "How did you reach this frequency? It's private."

"_Listen to me, we don't have much time and I don't think this channel is secure anymore. We may have been compromised_." Gaspard's deep voice was urgent, and Jaina could have sworn she heard a slight tremor. He was afraid. "_I'm on my way down there, I just received a transmission from dear old Mom and Dad. They were attacked in the Government Palace. Verrader was behind it_."

"Verrader?" She asked, confused. "But that doesn't make any sense, he's on our si—"

Gaspard let out a frustrated hiss. "_Molator, _listen to me_, we don't have time. It's more than possible, in fact it's highly likely, that Jadonn is a traitor too. We don't think he's been abducted, he might have been _extracted_ from his own mission. If that is the case then you are walking blindly into a trap. Now listen carefully, Curly is going to wait for Mom and Dad here, but I'm going down there to help you_—"

"Gaspard, how dare you," Jaina whispered icily. "Jadonn is not a traitor, he's missing! You're letting your dislike of him cloud your vision_ again_! They could be interrogating him right now and you know he's not trained to withstand torture! We need to find him! Have you considered that maybe he was taken because his father failed to kill our Masters? He could be innocent, it's possible he's being punished for his father's failure!"

"_Verrader _tried to kill _our Masters, Molator! Do you hear what you're saying?_" Gaspard exclaimed into her ear comm, equally as furious. "_He's a traitor, Jaina, a traitor! Look, Jadonn smuggled our lightsabers in but also this ear comm Dad gave you. I have one from Mom too. But if he smuggled these in for us, it's safe to assume these comms have been compromised and he could have been listening to _all_ our conversations with our Masters. Look, we need to rendezvous immediately, where are_—"

"Cortosis?" Jaina asked, all frustration disappearing in a flash. "Cortosis? _Gaspard!_ Blast it, I'm being jammed."

"What if you try piggybacking the signal on—"

Jaina exhaled heavily. "We did, we already did. Master Kenobi programmed this comm to piggyback on any outgoing signal coming from the factory so that I couldn't be traced. The fact that they're able to jam us implies that they..."

"...know we're here."

Jaina turned to Ilana. "You have to go back."

"Go back?" Ilana asked incredulously. "Hey, look, just because some—"

"No, Ilana, listen to me. I need you to do something for me." Jaina took the small chip from her belt pocket and placed it in Ilana's tiny hands. "The fate of millions now lies in your hands. I need you to give this to Gaspard, you know what he looks like, right?"

"Blonde, big, tall, scary-looking. Yes, I do."

"Great, I need you to find him, and give this to him. Take my ear comm."

"You're not seriously giving this chip to me to give to your partner because of Jadonn are you?" Ilana asked. "You're Jaina! I thought you'd be a little more duty-obsessed."

Jaina wrinkled her nose. "Uh, _thanks_. I don't have time to explain, but we were sent here to find a fellow Jedi, Master Soara Antana. I have a feeling this is where she is being held. Master Kenobi and Master Tachi are probably already on their way here anyway but if Master Antana is here, I need to do everything in my power to find her. It's actually our mission's top priority, to bring her home."

"And...what about Jadonn?"

"I'll do what I can, Ilana," Jaina murmured, lowering to her knee and smiling up at her. "Don't worry. I wouldn't want to let you down. Just get Gaspard that chip, and don't let anybody see you."

"I don't like this," Ilana grumbled, but she slipped the chip into her pocket. "Be careful!"

She smiled and slipped her lightsaber off her belt as she began walking away. "I always am."

The corridor seemed to drag on for several meters, but no doors could be found on either side. Jaina felt her shoulders begin to tense as she ran down the noiseless hallway.

There were no droid squads in sight, no scientists running around carrying datapads. Just as Jaina thought she would lose her mind, she reached what looked like a door, or at least a cupboard, it only rose to her waist. She tightened her grip on her saber and swiftly kicked it back.

Jaina lowered to a crouch and entered the pitch-dark room, her blade sending eerie shadows in each direction. The small room was empty, except for a small, metal chair right in the center.

"Jadonn," she breathed, taking two large steps toward him and cutting through the binders. "_Jadonn. _Jadonn, are you all right? I'm sorry I took so long to—"

"Jaina—" Jadonn interrupted urgently, as she removed the cloth covering his mouth. "Jaina, I'm so sorry, it's a trap—!"

His eyes were terrified, focused on something, or _someone_, behind her. Jaina didn't need to hear a word to know who it was.

"I knew you'd be here," Jaina snarled, whirling around and raising her lightsaber menacingly. "Finally, this mission turns _fun_."

"Nice to see we agree on something." There was nothing that could unnerve her more than Ventress's smirk. The SBDs behind Dooku's assassin raised their blasters. "I'd give you the option of surrender but somehow I doubt you'd take it anyway."

"You know me well."

"I like to think I do. Does this mean you really _are_ going to drop your weapon to save your dear friend before we shoot him?"

Jaina shifted her weight to her toes. "Not this time."

She raised a foot swiftly and kicked the chair Jadonn was sitting on until it fell back, allowing him to narrowly miss the blasts. "Sorry!" Jaina called, deflecting some shots and easily slicing the droids to pieces. She took two steps towards Ventress but immediately jerked back, as four MagnaGuards appeared behind her.

Jaina's eyes widened and she turned to Jadonn, who looked nothing like the smug teenager who'd made her feel at ease mere hours before. "Listen to me, Jadonn, we can take them," she murmured intently. "We can. I promise you. Just listen carefully and follow my instructions."

To her astonishment, he pulled her close and wrapped both arms around her. "You're wrong, Jaina..." he said softly. "_You _can't."

Before the full meaning of his words could have sunk in, a stinging pain erupted in the back of her neck and her world disappeared in a wave of black.

* * *

"You have nothing to worry about, Mistress," Jadonn murmured, speaking into a small comm. "I've got things under control here."

"_I wish I could stay and watch. Send me a holorecording, will you, Commander Jadonn?_"

"My pleasure." Jadonn's features twisted into a smirk as he met her furious gaze then ran a mockingly gentle hand through Jaina's hair.

"_How could you?_" She demanded, heart pounding in rage."You're going to regret this, you Sithspit!"

"Not this time." Jadonn snickered, cupping her face in his large hands. "I hope you don't mind, Jaina, but Ventress did ask me to find out a few things from you. For old time's sake, please answer them."

Jaina twisted awkwardly, attempting to move as far away as she could with his large arms still keeping her immobile against the chair. Her vision slowly began to clear. "You're despicable. How could you do this to your own people, now they're all going to suffer!"

"Only a Jedi would say that," Jadonn hissed in a low voice. "Hypocrites. Especially when you're to blame for all we have suffered."

"You can't blame us for what's happened, we didn't ask for this! Helping the Separatists, that's—you're turning your back on—"

Jadonn laid a rough finger on her lips. Jaina grimaced but maintained her glare. "You talk too much. And none of that is what I need. Where have your Masters gone, Jaina?"

"I have no idea, Jadonn and even if I did, you can't really believe I'd tell you."

"That's a lie. Ventress seems pretty eager to catch him."

"_I'm telling you the truth!_"

"No, you're not," he whispered, grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling back, forcing her to look up at him. "They survived my father's ambush in the Government Palace and because of them, he's _dead_! I'll ask you again, Jaina, _where are they_?"

"Turn around," Jaina snarled. "He's right behind you, you rotten piece of poodoo. About to shove his lightsaber through your chest...at least, that's probably where he will be in ten, maybe five mi—"

"Shut up!" Jadonn roared, abruptly pulling out a holoprojector and striking her cheek with it. "I don't think you realize what's at stake here!"

The hologram came to life, and Jaina found herself staring at the weak, unconscious form of a familiar Jedi Master. "Blast..." she murmured. "Master Soara..."

"She's alive, but only for a few minutes more." Jadonn kept the holoprojector and smirked at her. "Surrounded by missiles almost ready for launch. The galaxy as you know it is about to change. You know, I don't want to do this, Jaina, I just wish you could see things the way I do."

"Ventress herself can't make me talk, Jadonn, what makes you think _you_ can? This galaxy has changed enough."

He cackled and leaned in until his breath sent shivers up the back of her neck. "That remains to be seen. I'm guessing you took medical classes back in your Temple, Jaina? You're you, of course you did. In that case, I'm sure you know what a femoral artery is, and how, if severed, it can lead to someone bleeding to death in a matter of minutes?"

"That would require you to actually _know_ where the femoral artery is," Jaina spat.

"Maybe so, but I _do _know one thing." Jadonn moved the cutter directly above her thigh. "I'm not the one who's going to die."

Jaina furiously heaved at the binders, preparing to use what strength she had left.

"_Get_ away from her. _Now_!"

"Ah, perfect! The moment I have been waiting for." Jadonn cackled and stepped aside, holding his blade firmly on Jaina's throat.

"Gaspard..." She murmured, a surge of relief racing through her. The pressure on her neck increased. "_Wait_! _What_ in the blazes are you doing here? I thought I told you to—"

"I'd drop the lightsaber if I were you. That is, if you care about your dear friend over here. Come any closer and I slit her throat," Jadonn barked.

Gaspard turned his tortured gaze to Jaina, and she realized what his pleading eyes meant.

"Don't!" Jaina barked angrily. "Don't be stupid! Gaspard, listen to me, you need to find Master Soara! We have a mission, _don't be an idiot!_"

Gaspard smiled weakly. "You of all people should know, Jaina...I _am_ an idiot."

"Gaspard, _DON'T!_"

Before Jaina could have screamed at her best friend for his stupidity, Gaspard deactivated his lightsaber and tossed the hilt at the ground, a few feet away. Jadonn smirked and walked towards it. "I think I just threw up in my throat."

As Jadonn leaned downwards to pick up the lightsaber, Gaspard took one swift step forward and kicked him squarely in the nose.

Jadonn fell backwards and crumpled against the wall, barely able to conceal his agony as blood gashed down his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gaspard said, leaning towards him mockingly and shoving him to the ground. "Hope that makes up for it."

"Gaspard," Jaina called, rolling her eyes. "I don't need any help, by the way. I'm perfectly fine with being tied to this chair while the missiles launch."

"Oh, Jaina," he retorted, deactivating the binders and extending a hand to help her off the chair. "What would you do without me?"

She ignored his outstretched hand and stood, pulling her hair out of the disheveled bun. "I'd sit back, relax, and watch you try and find the missile control center and deactivate all of them in time."

Gaspard chuckled and reached out to wipe the dripping blood from Jaina's neck with a finger. "Sounds easy enough."

"But apparently you care enough about me to drop your lightsaber," Jaina teased, satisfied as his smirk disappeared. "I'm touched, Gaspard."

"It was a tactic, my dear friend," he said wryly, brushing her cheek tenderly. No doubt a bruise had formed from Jadonn's holoprojector. "Meant to put that Sithspit's nose within reach."

"Of course it was." Jaina forced a smile, batting his hand away. "Come on. We need Jadonn for one last thing."

They walked to the corner of the room where Jadonn was still grimacing, breathing heavily. He glared at them both.

"You left out one small detail, Jadonn. Master Soara's location. Where is she?" Jaina asked, smiling sweetly.

"You actually think you're going to find her," Jadonn cackled. "How idiotic can you Jedi get?"

Gaspard lowered to a crouch and struck again, this time across the jaw. "That's no way to talk to a lady, Jadonn. You should know that. Answer her question."

Jaina glanced at her friend for a moment before turning back to Jadonn. "We're running out of time, Jadonn, the missile launch control, _where is it?"_

"If I die, at least you all die with me! I'm going to enjoy watching you burn, Jaina," Jadonn hissed menacingly, spitting blood at the ground.

"Not as much as I'm enjoying this, you son of a bantha," Gaspard snarled, his voice low, frightening. He grabbed Jadonn's shoulders and smashed him against the wall.

"_Gaspard_—!"

"You may need accessories to try and make people talk, Jadonn, but I'm nothing like you," he murmured nastily. "I don't need _toys_ to make you talk."

"Gaspard, don't," Jaina repeated, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Don't sink down to his level, come on. We both know you're better than that."

"Jaina, he's just a—"

"_Gaspard_."

He exhaled heavily and nodded, placing his rough hand atop hers. "Jaina. We are running out of time."

"That's not an excuse, Gaspard, I know you're better than he is," Jaina whispered, standing back up. "We have to find another way."

"You're already too late," Jadonn said, laughing. "Down the hallway, fifth door on your left. I'm telling you this because I know you're never going to make it."

Gaspard nodded then struck Jadonn for the last time, this time knocking him out cold.

"_Gaspard!"_ Jaina exclaimed.

"Sorry, I've been wanting to do that since the minute we met him." He said, grinning and pulling her lightsaber from Jadonn's belt. "Come on. I don't think Master Obi-Wan will be pleased to hear you almost lost this again."

Jaina laughed and grabbed the hilt from him. "It's a good thing he doesn't need to know." Her smile quickly vanished as she followed him down the corridor. "Wait a minute...I don't like this. It doesn't make any sense, why would launch control be this far underground? They'd never get a signal out, something tells me Jadonn's—"

"—lying? Oh, I have no doubt he is," Gaspard said. "But there must be something in this room anyway, otherwise he wouldn't have told us about it."

"Wouldn't we be better off waiting for the Masters?"

"Sure, if we want to infect all the targeted worlds, no problem, let's wait. In fact, we can probably search the entire base on foot."

"You could've just said no, sarcasm isn't going to get us anywhere," Jaina growled.

"And this is coming from the person who uses sarcasm as a second language. Interesting." Gaspard looked at her intently. "Ready?"

Jaina nodded. "Ready."

The door slid open, and their hands immediately flew to their noses. The stench was overwhelming, nothing like they'd ever smelled before. The room was dark and cramped, with objects littered around the floor.

"I…I have a really bad feeling about this…" Jaina murmured, following him inside. "Gaspard…"

He slowed down a stop and raised a slow hand. "Are these what I think they…wait a minute…"

Jaina tensed as he pulled out a glowrod from his belt and activated it. The small room was suddenly filled with light, and Jaina felt bile gather at the back of her throat. "_Oh_—"

Her eyes darted all around the room, where corpses of different species lay dumped atop one another, all with the same disfigured form. She instinctively reached for Gaspard's forearm, frantically eyeing a mutilated Rodian less than a foot away. "Gaspard, we need to get out of here, _now_!"

They both whirled around as the two doors started closing, and immediately ran back towards the hallway. "It's too far!" Jaina cried. "We're not going to make it!"

"Yes, you are!"

Jaina felt the wind get knocked out of her lungs as an unexpected Force push propelled her forward, back into the hallway and straight into the wall. She raised a hand to her forehead where no doubt a bump had formed and struggled to stand back up, only to see the doors close right in front of Gaspard's face.

"What have you done?" Jaina shrieked, banging a fist on the glass that separated them. "Gaspard! Why'd you do that? _Gaspard!_"

He mouthed something to her, his breath fogging the glass as he spoke.

"No...no, no, _no_!" She continued banging on the door furiously, although somewhere deep inside, she knew her efforts were futile. She ignited her lightsaber. "Gaspard! Gaspard, _no_! Hang on!"

Her gaze darted to several things at once, to the smooth wall, the chip lodged in Gaspard's belt after Ilana's success, and lastly to his pleading, frightened gaze, a gaze she never imagined she'd see.

"_Don't!_" He mouthed urgently. "_Get out of here. Virus…going to…spread...if you open...the door!_"

"I'm—not—leaving—you—" Jaina choked out, her nose practically touching the glass. The lights inside the disposal room abruptly turned crimson. Shadows lined his anxious face. Somewhere behind him, gas began to rise. "Gaspard, don't—don't! — Don't—make me—do—this—I'll get—you out of—here!"

"_Find the cure first!_" Gaspard yelled at her, glancing at the white gas behind him. "_Don't open the door yet, Jaina!_"

"The cure's with you!" She exclaimed, tears beginning to spill. "Gaspard, it's in the chip you're holding! I need to get you out, I'm not sure I remember the formula correctly!"

"_Don't you dare…_" He mouthed, staring at her intently as the gas began to engulf him. "…_leave me…here…Jaina..._go!"

Jaina put her hand to the glass, even though she was certain he could no longer see her. "I'll be back for you. I promise."

* * *

**Next chapter is more than halfway done, one of the reasons I took so long in updating is because I worked on both chapters simultaneously. It will be up very soon!**

**The usual Shout-Outs!**

Marcus S. Lazarus: Displaying the differences in Obi-Wan's and Anakin's teaching styles is actually what inspired me to start this story in the first place, I'm very happy to hear you're enjoying it! Thank you! The war's climax is nearing...hehehe

Han: I hope you enjoyed this one!...and the next one coming soon! xD

R2D2: Thank you!

the brown cow: Nope! I'm seeing this story through to the end! ;)

ClassicalBrunette: Thank you so much! Yup, school is taking up all of my time, unfortunately sighh :( I'm so glad I finally got to update though hehehe. Thank you again!

Anonymous: Here it is! :D Stick around, I'll be updating a lot more now! :) Thank you!

Littlelionluvr: Here's the long overdue update! Sorry for the terribly long wait :( And nope, sensing the jealousy early on doesn't make you weird, in fact it makes you very perceptive ;) Thank you so much!

patattack: Thank you so much! I'll be updating wayyyy more often now, I promise!

DarthAbby: I am soooo sorry I made you wait for more months! :(( So so so so sorry! :( Hehe hope you enjoyed the battle between Jaina, Gaspard and Jadonn ;) Although it's the last we'll see of Gaspard vs. Jadonn (for now), there will be some of Jaina vs. Jadonn preeeetty soon hehehe! ;)

Guywhosings28: Thank you so much! We need to chat soon btw!

Skywalker-Solo Family: Hehehe I was giggling while writing those scenes! ;) Hehehe. I'm really sorry for this new cliffy! (it may be difficult to believe, but I hate cliffys probably as much as you guys all do but it's unfortunately turned into my 'style' LOL) I shall relieve you of this one really soon!

RogueJedi96: Thank you so much! I had fun writing that speech :) To answer your question, yup, I actually do have a plot line. Before I write an entire subplot, I write per-chapter outline, to prevent writer's block, but sometimes I come up with something while writing and I just add it in. I think outlining really helps though! :)

I will be posting again soon, I PROMISE! New Year's resolution for 2012: POST BI-MONTHLY. (Or at least, monthly...)


	40. Impossible Decision

Chapter 39 - Impossible Decision

Jaina furiously ran back down the corridor but found her anger only heightened when she found the spot they'd left Jadonn in completely empty. Mechanical footsteps echoed in the hallway behind her and she raised her lightsaber, desperately struggling to keep her anger, fear and panic at bay. These were not Jedi emotions and they were a serious disadvantage in a battlefield.

She had no one and nothing this time, no squad of clones to assist her, no detonators to speed things up, no Jedi team to save Gaspard while she handled the droids, no Master to guide her. Absolutely _alone_.

And millions of lives were at risk, her best friend's life was at risk. Jaina shut her eyes and gulped down the pang that had formed in her throat. She needed to focus.

Jaina pushed herself against the wall and Force-pulled a nearby ruined datapad to her palm. She pulled out a large shard of glass from its monitor then used the Force to levitate it through the doorway. She lowered to a crouch against the wall and looked at the reflection on the glass as she kept it floating in the air.

Eight Super BattleDroids were checking each and every room before hers, their weapons raised. She had about thirty seconds. Jaina kept her breathing low and steady, her weight shifting to her toes.

Fifteen seconds.

"Check this room, Corporal. Then take the squad down to the disposal area and get rid of the Jedi."

"Roger, roger."

Jaina closed her eyes and began lifting objects around the room as the shadow of the first SBD drew closer. Before it could have stepped through the doorway, she sent chairs, desks and other objects flying towards it.

"It's the Jedi!" It squealed, before being pinned against the wall.

Jaina activated her lightsaber and sliced neatly through the second, then used it as a shield from all blasts sent by the other five. She hurled it at the squad, took advantage of the split second and slid towards them, simultaneously slicing at several pairs of legs.

As the droids fell to the ground, she slashed through their torsos with barely enough time to deflect a blast from the last droid, standing meters away. She lifted a trembling hand and it floated inches above the ground, confused. Jaina closed a fist and watched as its smoking, crushed remains fell to the floor.

Jaina dove back into the room she'd come from as more footsteps echoed down the hallway. She inhaled, willed her racing heart to slow down and tightened her grip on her lightsaber. As the footsteps drew closer, she abruptly leaped out of the room, lightsaber fully poised for attack.

"_Jaina!_" Obi-Wan yelled, swiftly bringing his blade up to block the attack with a split-second to spare.

"Master!" She exclaimed, horrified as she immediately deactivated her lightsaber. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were—"

"It doesn't matter, what's the situation?"

"Gaspard's been locked up in the corpse disposal area," Jaina said, barely managing to hide the tremor in her voice. She kept her gaze directed at her Master, unable to look at Master Siri, who stood behind him. "They filled the room with gas and I don't know how much time he has left, but if we open the door, it might contaminate the entire compound so we need to shut off the gas first, and to make things worse, the final countdown for the missile launch has also begun and we have to stop Ventress from—"

"We'll get Gaspard out later and at the moment, Ventress is irrelevant," he cut her off, and though his eyes held deep sympathy, she could already sense his mind working furiously. "We'll need to move quickly."

"Jadonn made the mistake of threatening me with a holo of Master Soara. She's being held in the control center. Knowing the Separatists, they're planning on using a self-destruct program on the lab once the missiles have been launched. She'll be the first hit by the bioweapon. No doubt Ventress has the control heavily guarded."

"Gaspard said you found a cure developed by one of the scientists?"

"Yes." She blinked quickly. Displaying any sign of emotion now would only place her in deeper trouble. "But it's in his belt. In the disposal area. And we can't open it, we can't let him out yet."

"Understood. Were you able to memorize the formulas before handing the chip to Gaspard?"

"I..." Jaina hesitated. "I looked at it only once, Master, I'm not certain I can—"

"We have no room for error, Jaina, Gaspard and Master Soara's lives now depend on you, and if we don't act swiftly and decisively, so will the lives of all those affected." Siri said, her voice urgent, almost angry.

"I know," she snapped, immediately regretting it. "But I don't even know where launch control is!"

"Two floors up, down the southern corridor." Obi-Wan raised his clear gaze at Siri. "We'll be back."

She nodded curtly. "Hurry, Obi-Wan."

"How…" Jaina quickly fell into step behind her Master as they ran up the nearby staircase. "How did you know where—"

"It wasn't me," he interrupted. "As it turns out, Padawan Starr is capable of reconnaissance after all. We'll only have a few crucial moments to breach the control centre, Jaina, I hope you're prepared."

"Wait, Master," Jaina slowed down to a stop in the middle of the staircase. "The room where I found the datachip is nearby, and it also contained all of the chemicals needed for the antidote. I can grab everything we need in a few seconds and meet you at the launch control."

"All right, Jaina, but be quick and invisible, now is _not_ the time to try and be a hero."

"Yes, Master," she said, stung, as she darted down the hallway while Obi-Wan continued up the stairs. She could already see the small panel she had discovered only this time the door was oddly askew. "Blast it..."

Jaina stepped inside and mentally went through the formulas in her head as she crouched, looking through the lowest shelf.

"2BR 6CA 1RG 5ML for the poison itself...the antidote was..." Jaina murmured, swiftly picking up vials around the small room and slipping them into pouches in her belt. "3RG...5PS 2HC and...blast it, what in the blazes was that last one..." She ran an irritated hand through her hair then put her hands to her eyes. "It was beside Ilana's thumb when we were reading it...it was next to Ilana's…9GL! 9GL 9GL 9GL..."

Jaina trailed off, her eyes reaching the empty test tube rack with the label 9GL.

"I'd say you're missing something, wouldn't you?" A smug voice called from the doorway. "I had a feeling you'd show up here alone."

"Where is it, Jadonn?" Jaina asked furiously, igniting her lightsaber.

"_I don't mind being hated by my peers, Jadonn_," he taunted, in a mockingly high voice as he activated his electrostaff. "_Not having that many friends seems so trivial to me_. Isn't that what you said? Explain something to me then, why do you care so much about this tiny vial I have in my pocket?"

"Because it gives me an excuse to finally get revenge for that practice spar we had last night." Jaina growled then swung at his electrostaff, the force of her slash sending him several steps back, stunned. She lowered to a crouch and swung at his knees, then aimed a stab at his right shoulder.

Jadonn jumped over her first strike then easily hit her stab away, though his eyes hinted at the real fear underneath his bravado.

"You may have the upper hand in fist fights, but that's never going to get you anywhere," Jaina said in a low voice. "Not in a war that's being fought by _us_."

Jadonn slashed at her right hip, then her left arm. His moves were desperate, sloppy. Not as frighteningly calculated as a MagnaGuard, not fluidly spontaneous like Ventress. Jaina easily parried both swings, then somersaulted over him and sent a Force push at his knees.

Jadonn stumbled forward but rolled when he landed, then sent a perfect kick at her wrist from his position on the ground. Jaina gasped as her lightsaber hilt bounced off the wall, several feet away.

"Not so tough now, are you?" He swung his legs, attempting to trip her, but Jaina used the momentum to cartwheel, kicking at his chin before she landed.

"Nah. That doesn't make much of a difference."

Jaina inwardly grinned, intentionally repeating the exact same movements and strikes she had executed during their unarmed velocity the night before. When he dodged her punch and grabbed her arm as he had done the night before, Jaina inhaled. She would have a split second, no more, no less.

Jadonn twisted it behind her back, as she had anticipated, but when he shoved her to the ground, she bent her head at the perfect moment, tumbled forward, then immediately shifted her weight as he fell so that she was on top, preventing him from getting up. Jaina leaned towards his ear.

"Nice try, fighting me. _That lasted, what, all of twenty seconds_?" She whispered, repeating the words he had spoken to her when she had lost. "Oh, right…one absolutely fascinating thing about me you probably didn't get to figure out, I _never_ make the same mistake twice."

"I sense a lot of anger there, _Padawan_," Jadonn spat attempting to get out of her firm grip. "You sure you can call yourself a Jedi?"

She reached into his pocket and took the 9GL vial, placing it inside her own belt pouch. "Oh, trust me, _this_ isn't anger. You'll see what real anger is at the next Republic prison we send you to. I imagine Ventress won't be too happy when she finds out you failed. We'll let you two share a cell."

"As long as it's bigger than dear old Gaspard's coffin."

Jaina's hands balled into tight fists and she violently shoved Jadonn at the wall. "How do I shut the missiles down, Jadonn?"

"You're already too late," he retorted, snickering. "He probably only has a few minutes left. Gaspard, along with the millions of your Republic's supporters...is going to die."

"_Padawan_," Obi-Wan's voice called from her ear comm. "_I need you here to help me disarm the missiles, I've found Soara, but_—"

"I'll be right there, Master," Jaina interrupted, not taking her eyes off Jadonn. Force pushed him at the wall again, this time igniting her lightsaber. "Don't test me, Jadonn, I actually know where the femoral artery is."

"Jaina, I know you. You wouldn't dare..."

"_Try me_!"

"You wouldn't hurt me."

Jaina lowered her lightsaber until it was centimeters away from his thigh. "You don't know me at all..."

"_Okay_! Okay, wait, wait, I'll tell you!" Jadonn exclaimed, his voice cracking. "You know, I don't even give a damn about this war, I don't have a side! I'm just trying to survive here!"

"You're talking, Jadonn, but none of that is what I need to hear!" Jaina snarled.

"Take my identichip, it's in my right pocket," he stammered. "You'll need it to shut down the missiles, although I don't have enough clearance. There's also a four-digit code you'll need and only the higher ranking officers possess it. You'll need to start decoding now if you plan on stopping the missiles."

"Master," Jaina called into her comlink, one hand still keeping Jadonn against the wall. "We're going to have to decrypt a four digit code in order to stop the missiles, is there a terminal nearby that might be able to provide these codes?"

"_I see it. I'll start the decryption process now_."

"Copy. I have an identichip that will shut down the missiles once we have the codes." She turned back to Jadonn. "What else do I need to know?"

"Use the same chip in the slot next to the disposal area's door and shut off the gas before you release Gaspard. If he's already dead, you'll only have ten seconds before-"

"He won't be. Anything else?"

"...I'm sorry...?"

"It's a bit too late for apologies, Jadonn."

"I don't plan on spending the rest of my teenage years in prison, I meant, I'm sorry in advance."

Jadonn abruptly threw a powerful punch at her jaw, sending her stumbling to the ground with bright lights dancing before her eyes.

Jaina tenderly brought the back of her hand to her mouth after the metallic taste of blood brought her back to her senses. Jadonn was running down the corridor. She hauled herself back to her feet then immediately dashed after him, cursing under her breath.

"_Jaina, the codes have been decrypted, where are you_?" Obi-Wan's voice suddenly rang in her ear. "_We're running out of time_!"

"I'm...I'm just—" Jaina trailed off, slowing down to a stop. She stared at the hallway where Jadonn had just disappeared, then turned her gaze to the nearby stairway where she could easily run downstairs to save Gaspard.

"_Padawan_!"

Jaina looked at the ceiling where she knew, only a few meters of durasteel away, her Master stood, fighting to save the innocent lives that were now in terrible danger. She tightened her grip on her lightsaber.

"_Jaina_!" Obi-Wan's voice exclaimed over the comlink. "_I need you up here, now_!"

"_Don't you dare...leave me...here...Jaina...go_!" Gaspard had yelled mere minutes before, after he had sacrificed his strength to save her, instead of himself.

"_Remember, this is a rescue mission_," Mace Windu had ordered. "_Your mandate, first and foremost, is to bring back Master Antana and confirm or deny the existence of the bioweapon_."

"_I sense a lot of anger there, Padawan. You sure you can call yourself a Jedi_?"

Callista's face had been uncertain, afraid. "_All right, all right, all right, I do care! Happy_?"

"_Satisfied, but we'll get to happy later_."

"_She's...the only one who I can't irritate_."

Several voices continued to yell inside her head, but Jaina found her feet moving briskly before she had even consciously made the decision. Innocent lives were at stake, and her Master needed her.

* * *

"I've already inputted the access codes into the terminal," Obi-Wan said crisply as Jaina barged into the control centre. "I just need an identichip to fully shut down the missiles, we only have thirty seconds left before the first one launches at Allanteen Six and her shipyards."

"Understood," Jaina said quickly, taking the identichip from her belt and making her way to the terminal, hopping over the droid debris. "Nice work, Master."

"Where did you get—"

"I..._persuaded_ Jadonn to assist the Republic."

Obi-Wan shook his head, but abruptly ignited his lightsaber again. "Incoming! I'll cover you, shut those missiles down!"

Jaina activated her own blade and blocked whatever shots her Master had missed, her other hand tightly gripping the tiny chip.

She took swift steps backwards, towards the large screen, but almost fell forward as another Super BattleDroid appeared from a nearby door. She slashed it in half then deflected another shot straight back at a droid to her left. "Master, they're outflanking us!"

_Ten seconds._

"Just get to the terminal!" Obi-Wan yelled, extending both arms and sending a powerful Force push that went in all directions, immediately flinging all SBDs back.

Jaina stared at him. "Whoa..."

"_Jaina_!"

"I'm moving, I'm moving," she stammered, somersaulting above the recovering droids and shoving Jadonn's identichip into the terminal's slot. The blinking six seconds immediately stopped and Jaina stabbed the keyboard with her lightsaber to prevent anyone else from restarting the countdown.

Obi-Wan cut through the remaining droids with ease and used the Force to gently move a table directly beside the console.

"Master Soara," Jaina gasped, stunned at the Jedi Master's weak form, lying down behind the table. Her dark hair was filthy, her cheekbones protruding and her skin deathly pale. Small cuts ran along her cheeks and hands, her mouth hanging slightly open in an unspoken scream.

"Padawan, the antidote," Obi-Wan ordered urgently.

"I haven't—" Jaina dropped to the floor and frantically put the different vials on the ground. Obi-Wan pulled a small battle syringe from his belt's pocket and handed it to her as she struggled to keep her hands from trembling while mixing the liquids together.

"Are you sure the measurements are correct? The chemicals?"

"Yes," Jaina said quietly, biting down on her lower lip. "Positive."

"What are we waiting for then?"

She exhaled heavily then transferred the contents to the syringe before shaking it and reluctantly removing the needle's cover. "Master..."

"Master Soara's life is in your hands, Jaina, along with Gaspard's," he said severely. "You don't have much time, what's the problem? You said you were positive."

"I—I think I am—Master—I only had a few seconds to glance at the formula—I'm sca—"

"Padawan, the time to act is now. Make your choice."

Jaina gulped and gently moved strands of Master Soara's hair away before injecting her in the neck with the antidote. A few crucial, silent moments passed. Jaina held in her breath. One heartbeat passed. Then another.

Abruptly, Master Soara coughed vehemently, her eyes immediately wide open before slowly sliding again shut.

"It worked..." Jaina breathed, somewhat stunned and incredibly, incredibly relieved. She looked up at her Master pleadingly and he returned her gaze, his eyes sympathetic. She did not need to say a word.

"_Go_. _Run_."

* * *

"_Gaspard_!" Jaina whispered, unable to find the strength to scream. She ran down the hallway and practically collapsed to the ground where her friend lay unconscious, Master Siri helplessly sitting next to him. The disposal area was now devoid of gas. She guessed Siri had found the panel that shut the chamber down and somehow hotwired it. "I came back for you, I didn't leave you, _don't do this to me_..."

She brought out the syringe with shaking hands and uncapped the needle, her throat constricting. Jaina placed a tender hand behind his neck and lifted his head to her lap, then administered the antidote, heart racing fiercely.

Gaspard's lips were blue and chapped while parts of his skin were peeling and severely red. His _eyes_…his normally bright, determined, sometimes mischievous eyes were tightly closed, as though he had been desperately fighting before physically giving in.

She lowered her forehead to his, holding back a sob. "Don't do this...you're stronger than this, I know you are...cell deterioration is nothing, do you hear me? It's _nothing_…" she whispered, gripping his lifeless, rough hand. "Gaspard, don't leave me here, _please_..."

The first tear fell and landed atop his nose before running down his chin, narrowly avoiding the deep cuts on his face. She cupped his cheek gently. "Tell me I wasn't too late..."

Jaina heard a deep, sad sigh come from behind her but she continued to stare, _glare_, at him. "Gaspard Loahin, don't you dare let them win. We still have a war to fight! Gaspard, wake up! _Gaspard_!" She was frantically moving his heavy shoulders now. "_Get up_!"

"Jaina..." Siri murmured. "I don't think he—"

"_NO_! GASPARD!" Jaina screamed, vehemently shaking her head.

Siri's firm hand landed on her shoulder. "Jaina—"

"GASPARD!" She continued to yell, furious at him for keeping her waiting after she had just saved him. "STOP IT, _HE'S ALIVE_!"

"Let him go..." Siri murmured, her face twisted in despair.

"I won't—" She choked out. "I can't—Gaspard—!"

A loud, violent cough stopped her mid-sentence, and Gaspard's large body shook, startling Jaina. He continued gasping for breath and she tightened her grip on his hand, eyes wide.

"You're okay..." she whispered, gently touching his wounded cheek and letting out a strained laugh in her relief. "You're alive...you're going to be all right...I knew you'd come back."

Gaspard slowly regained his consciousness and gazed at her, his eyes unfocused. "Jaina...?"

"I'm here..." she said quietly, struggling to smile at him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm here."

"Jaina..." he murmured again, eyes sliding closed.

"I'll get a medical team to assist us," Siri said, standing and whipping out her comlink. "We need to get him aboard the ship immediately so I can tend to his injuries and we can get back to Coruscant. Watch over him, Jaina."

"Yes, Master Siri," she said, offering her a crisp nod and turning back to Gaspard's sleeping form. His chest was now slowly rising and falling. Jaina blew out a long breath and leaned against the wall, her fingers tightly interlaced with his.

* * *

Jaina let her gaze sweep over the countless children that were now being engulfed in their parents' large hugs. She turned to Obi-Wan, who stood next to her, also surveying the area.

"Master..."

"Yes, Jaina?"

"After I got the intel on how to shut down the missiles, after I...interrogated Jadonn...he...hit me."

"Oh," Obi-Wan murmured, puzzled then abruptly anxious. "Are you feeling all right? Do you need medical attention?"

"No, no, I'm fine, it's not that," Jaina said quickly, then she sighed. "He could have done that the entire time I was questioning him. I never shifted my position. But he waited until after he had answered my questions before he struck. I'm...confused."

"You told me he said he didn't want to take part in the war, that he was just trying to survive," Obi-Wan remarked. "Maybe he was telling you the truth. Maybe there's good in him."

"I doubt it, then again, maybe he only thought of hitting me after I had questioned him, but...I have no idea—"

"_Jaina_!" A third voice, very high in pitch, interrupted.

"We will continue this discussion back on Coruscant."

"Yes, Father," Jaina teased wryly, turning around to face the person who had spoken. "Hi there, Ilana, how are you?"

Her twelve year-old friend approached them, now standing between two people who Jaina assumed to be her parents, a man with disheveled brown hair, dark eyes and a thick mustache, and a woman, who shared Ilana's copper hair and blue eyes.

"I'm great! Jaina, meet my parents!"

"Hi there, Obi-Wan!" The man greeted, before Jaina could have spoken. She looked up at her master in confusion. "You found your daughter too, then? What a great day this is!"

The woman turned to Obi-Wan too. "Is Siri around? I owe her an apology for my rudeness before."

"Dale, Myra." Obi-Wan smiled. "We never could have done it without you. Thank you so much for telling the truth about Soara. Siri is tending to our son, he was injured in the factory."

Jaina scratched the back of her neck, bewildered. "What? They helped find Master Soara?"

"How are the people holding up, Myra?"

"The people of Limbus have been moving quicker than any of us expected actually," Myra answered, beaming. "Members of the local military have already detained General Mazlo for his crimes, and I've heard rumors that the original Secretary of State before Mazlo took over has agreed to open negotiations with the Republic."

"The Republic?" Jaina asked, looking up at her Master. "Then that means—"

He smiled at her. "The Senate has voted to send relief supplies immediately. They realized that they could not continue to neglect Limbus."

"That's great to hear!"

"Wait, daughter?" Ilana asked, utterly perplexed. "What are you talking about? That's not Jaina's Dad, that's—that's—" Her eyes widened, and it began to fully sink in just who she was talking to.

"Well, this is awkward," Jaina commented, breaking into the first real grin in hours. All three adults stared at her, confused.

"Jaina?"

"This is Ilana, Master," she explained. "I would not have found the Sep lab without her, she showed it to me in the first place, and she was also the one who gave the chip with the antidote formula to Gaspard." Jaina leaned in to whisper. "Oh, and she's kind of a...fan of yours."

Obi-Wan glared at her, then looked back at Ilana, who was now hiding behind her father.

"I'm still confused," Dale said, although he was now grinning too. "Master? Is that some kind of...effective way of disciplining children?"

"It works now and then," Jaina replied wryly.

"Dad," Ilana whined, lengthening the vowel. "Stop embarrassing me. Don't you know who they are! You're the adults, you're supposed to be the ones reading the HoloNet every morning."

"We haven't really picked one up in a while, sweetie, we didn't like reading the news. Why, what did we miss?" Myra said.

"That's Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Jedi General! You know, _'the Negotiator'_? Don't you read about his victories with General Skywalker?" Ilana rolled her eyes, as it took quite a few seconds for it to dawn upon her parents. "And that's Jaina, his Padawan, also a commanding officer in the GAR? You two are hopeless!"

Jaina laughed at her friend's antics then grinned as she attempted to inconspicuously hide behind her father when Obi-Wan approached her.

"So, I heard you helped my Padawan," Obi-Wan said kindly. "Between the two of us, she does need help every once in a while, even though she'll never admit it."

"_Hey_. I heard that."

Ilana giggled. "Yeah, for a long time, I thought she had everything under control back there."

"When Jaina looks like she has everything in control, she usually does, but there are those moments when we all need a helping hand. You didn't just help her today, you helped save the lives of millions of people. And I want you to know, Ilana, that when it is you that needs a helping hand, the Jedi will always be there."

Her eyes were wide. "Really?"

"_Always_."

Ilana flung her arms around her master, who returned the hug, somewhat stunned at the abrupt action. Jaina lowered to her knee as Ilana ran towards her to embrace her too. "I'll see you again, right?" She asked quietly.

Jaina grinned and lifted her chin. "You heard what he said. First sign of trouble, we'll be back here in a second."

"But hyperspace even from the nearest planet takes at least—"

"All right, I get it, I get it." Jaina laughed, then playfully pushed her away, ruffled her hair. "Take care of yourself, kiddo."

"You too, Jaina."

"Siri's signaling," Obi-Wan murmured. "Time to go."

Jaina glanced at their cruiser, resting in a nearby field. The landing lamp lowered and Siri stepped out, giving them a halfhearted, exhausted wave.

Jaina smiled at Ilana inclined her head at her parents. "May the Force be with you, Ilana."

She and Obi-Wan waved one last time at the friends they'd made on Limbus, then began walking towards the ship. "How's Gaspard doing?" Jaina asked quietly, after they had boarded.

"He's awake now, but still incredibly weak," Siri replied, her voice strained, tired. "He's in his bunk, if you want to see him. I can take the first shift so you two can talk."

"Not this time, my friend," Obi-Wan said, gently. "You rest. _I'll_ take the first shift."

Siri raised an eyebrow at him, though her eyes were grateful. "I'm not sure I trust you enough to get us off this rock."

"Not to worry, I'll have Padawan Starr as my copilot."

"I think that gives us quite a lot to worry about. Excuse me, Masters. I'll go check on Gaspard."

She began walking down the narrow corridor, past the galley and the refresher. Jaina put her hand on the door to the room Gaspard shared with Master Siri, but hesitated.

Waves of aggravation and rage were coming off from the room, almost tangibly knocking her back. She frowned, alarmed, and blew out a long breath before opening the door.

He sat, perfectly still, on his bunk bed, legs crossed, muscles taut, posture rigid. He had his back turned to her, but Jaina did not need to see his face to know that her friend was seething. Jaina took a cautious step forward. "...Gaspard?"

Gaspard directed his gaze at her briefly, his eyes sad and angry, then he turned away.

* * *

_**Shout-Outs!**_

guywhosings28: Craziness sucks for the struggling writer :( Huhuhu. I dunno why I do it, but I can't stop with the cliffhangers =)) That is so true, sigh. Just when things start to get good, they always get worse first...at least in the Star Wars universe LOL! Thank you! Glad to be back! :)

Angie: Tiny spoiler, but let's just say that isn't the last we'll see of Jadonn. And he's a veeeery complex guy, is he evil or not? We'll see! ;) Right now, Gaspard's furious though, so there might be a few complications in the Jaina/Gaspard team for a while. We'll see why in the next chapter! But I will say this, both he and Jadonn will be back.

I completely know what you mean! But right now, I'd say a lot can happen in the future. Jaina could end up with 'the' guy, the 'other' guy (or maybe even a third guy, who knows? HAHA just kidding!) (or she could end up alone...DUN DUN DUUUN) so yeah, who knows? :)

There will be more tragedies, that's for sure. The war and Jaina's life are both approaching their climax. This cliffhanger won't last long, I'll update soon! Peace out!

AdaYuki: Thank you so much! There will be, hope to see you around! :)

**I'll be back soon ;) I really appreciate comments or questions and I enjoy replying to them! :) May the Force be with you!**


	41. Seeds of Alienation

Chapter 40 – Seeds of Alienation

"Gaspard," Jaina murmured quietly, still alarmed. She stood awkwardly in front of the door. "…How are you feeling?"

"You saved Master Soara and stopped the missiles," Gaspard stated, his back still turned.

"I had help," Jaina replied, chuckling gently and sitting down at the edge of his bunk. "I found the Masters right after we were separated. I went back upstairs to the main lab with Master Obi-Wan, found the cure, ran into some trouble...but yes, we stopped the missiles, saved Master Soara then returned to you. You didn't miss much, believe me, it was all quite dull."

Gaspard finally turned to face her and when he did, her heart began pounding. His wounds had slightly healed, yet reddish-purple circles remained under his furious eyes and Jaina could see bruises and cuts all over his face and hands. "You saved Master Soara and stopped the missiles before saving me. You put the mission before your best friend's life, which – wait, let me finish, Jaina! – is how it's _supposed_ to be. But...for some reason...you put Jadonn's life above the mission."

"I –" Jaina stared at him, stunned at the fierce accusation. "It wasn't a conscious decision I made, Gaspard, it was all just…just really bad timing!" she stammered. She desperately tried to steer their conversation in the direction she needed it to go. "You know I had no choice, millions of lives were on the line and the countdown was moving so quickly while you were in that room! I had to stop it—"

"You had a choice, Jaina, don't pretend otherwise," he snarled, raising an index finger at her. "You _chose_ the mission over me. You chose stopping Ventress over me, you chose impressing your superiors, over me. As usual. I don't know why I'm so shocked. But I guess it's because you displayed a touch of spontaneity, a touch of _real_ friendship with _Jadonn_! Not me, but Jadonn! We've been friends for almost fifteen years, Jaina!"

"What are you talking about? I'd have thought that you, of all people, would understand my decision and why I made it! What you're saying I should have done goes against everything we believe in!"

"You not listening to me, Jaina!" Gaspard put two frustrated fingers to his eyelids. "I'm not saying you should have put my life over the mission, I'm saying you _did_ put Jadonn's life over the mission. But not mine. Not your fellow Jedi, not your best friend. Everyone's been saying things behind your back, Jaina, for the past years. They've been saying things about how you're so focused on following orders, on doing the '_right_' thing, on how you're so desperate to find Ventress, utterly _obsessed_ with maintaining the Masters' view of you. About how it's impossible to be your friend..."

"_You_—You think I like chasing after Ventress? My goodness, I can't believe you're even bringing this up; it's a _reflex_, Gaspard! In case you haven't noticed, _she wants to hurt me_. She's been going after Master Obi-Wan since this war began, and you know she won't hesitate to kill me!"

"It's not just about Ventress, Jaina," Gaspard said, irritated. "It's everything! Everything about you is just…just _difficult_!"

Jaina stared at him. She couldn't remember a single moment in her entire life where she'd felt more hurt. "...Gaspard..."

"But I would cope. I never believed the others, I would _always_ defend you! Every single time someone would tease you behind your back, I would disagree! Now I see, maybe there's some truth in those rumors."

"How can you say that?" Jaina exclaimed, now matching his anger with her own. "You know who I really am, Gaspard! You know that I care about each and every one of my friends, how dare you accuse me of such things! _I care about you_. None of those rumors are true; you are my oldest and dearest friend!...But I had responsibilities I needed to take care of!"

"Yet for some odd reason, Jadonn came before—"

"You, _stop talking_. This is _not_ about Jadonn, this is about us," Jaina said icily. "You think it was easy for me to run up to launch control and save Master Soara while the vision of you dying kept replaying over and over in my head? I was counting the seconds until I could run back down to save you, Gaspard!"

His gaze softened. "I...I just need time, Jaina...I didn't mean to anger you, but try and understand my position, you hurt me! I was in there, in unbearable pain, just _waiting_ and _thinking_ 'she disobeyed orders to save Jadonn…maybe she'll do the same for me…?'. I was not thinking about the millions of lives and obviously now, I know I was wrong because I'm a Jedi and I should have been thinking about them, but back then _there was just pain _and everything else was just gone. I wasn't thinking straight. And fine, maybe I'm still not thinking straight now. But I won't deny the fact that you…you hurt me, Jaina. Deeply. And…I just…I need time. To figure myself out."

"You mean to figure our friendship out," Jaina murmured, still angry. "Take all the time you want, Gaspard. I'm going to go continue being pompous. Being prim and proper, being boring, being, what was your word? Obsessed? Have fun spending your breaks with Call, she's the one that convinced you, isn't she?" She asked weakly. "I know you two are going to get along just perfectly...if you don't already."

She stood up to leave, but immediately stopped moving, startled, when Gaspard grabbed her wrist.

"Before you go, just answer me this…" He whispered. "Jadonn and Callista are out of the picture, this is between _you and me_. Who were you thinking of when you made your decision, Jaina? I'm curious, who did you think would benefit? Were you thinking of the anger and the disappointment Ventress would face when Dooku realized his plans had been foiled? Were you thinking of the mockery Jadonn would be forced to endure for the rest of his life? You obviously weren't thinking of my life, so were you thinking of the millions on all those Republic planets, as you claim?"

Jaina stared back at him, at her dear friend of almost fifteen years.

"Or, Jaina, were you thinking of yourself? The trouble you would be able to avoid after saving Jadonn when you had other orders...and the praise you would receive from the Jedi Council and your Master after successfully destroying yet another Separatist plot."

Her heart raced. She roughly pulled her hand away then walked out the door.

* * *

Jaina stabbed through the last BCA 11-X training droid in the chamber, her breathing labored, every inch of her body covered in sweat. Perhaps going against twenty-seven of them at once hadn't been the smartest idea.

It fell to the ground with a loud clank and she glanced at the nearby scoreboard, grimacing at the blinking sixteen minutes and forty-eight seconds.

Jaina blew out an irritated exhale and collapsed to the ground, steadying her breathing. It had been hours since they'd arrived back at the Temple, yet she'd still heard nothing from the Healers, nothing from Gaspard himself. Not that she expected to hear from him after their heated argument aboard the ship.

She kicked at a nearby blade next to the fallen droid, aggravated, then continued inhaling and exhaling at the centre of the room.

He had some nerve, accusing her of such absurd things. Especially considering at the end of the day, she had saved his life. The war had turned Gaspard into such an ungrateful, tactless, aggravating…

But then again, if the war had changed him, who was to say it hadn't changed her? Jaina silently counted the speeders that passed the nearby window. She hadn't made her decision in order to please her superiors. It made no sense.

All she had received after landing at the Temple was a small acknowledgment from Master Yoda, a brief, almost nonexistent nod from Master Windu and even her own Master had said nothing, usually did say nothing these days. So how could Gaspard accuse her of making a decision for _praise_? He didn't know her at all.

But then again she did care. The fact that she noticed these small acknowledgments must have meant that she cared. And she had cared since day one, pleasing her superiors had always been one of her needs, even as a youngling. Surely that didn't influence her decision to—

"You know...the ten people that tried to reserve this Sparring Chamber would get pretty upset if they saw you here just..._breathing_," an amused voice said from the door. "I would know. I'm part of the ten."

"Sorry, Master Siri," Jaina replied, sighing and pulling the tie out of her messy braid and letting her hair down. "I just needed to rest for a second, that's all. I think I'm all done."

"You're just like your Master. You needlessly yet..." Siri looked at the floor then gave Jaina a satisfied nod, "_neatly_ slaughter poor training droids to get rid of frustration."

"Who said I was frustrated?"

"I know Obi-Wan well."

"I'm not Master Obi-Wan."

"No, but you are your Master's Padawan in more ways than one," Siri remarked, almost laughing. "Spar with me."

"I just 'slaughtered' twenty-seven droids, Master Siri. I'm quite tired."

"I also know _you_ well, Jaina. If you were tired, you wouldn't still be here, sitting on the floor, you'd be at the cafeteria, getting dinner."

Jaina sighed. "A spar with you _always_ ends with me on the ground. I'd rather not taste the carpet, Master Siri, I hope you don't mind."

"How about the wallpaper?"

"No thanks."

"All right, I thought I'd give it a try anyway." Siri smiled and lowered to the ground, sitting next to her. "So, why so frustrated, Jaina?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Jaina sighed. "I've been thinking about a few things…"

"Such as?"

"The things a war can do to a person…How it can make you work hard, go after what you think is right...only to make you realize that maybe you don't know yourself. At all."

"Jaina." Siri offered her a smile and gently took the tie from her hand, beginning to braid her hair. "What you're saying can be true, war is capable of changing a person, but it cannot change you without your consent, do you understand me? Nothing can force you to change who you are, only _you_ can do that. And Gaspard is fine, by the way; the Healers said he should be released from the ward by next week," she added, answering Jaina's unspoken question.

Jaina looked up at her, relieved, but the relief was short lived as their argument on the ship suddenly came flooding back. "How long was Gaspard in the disposal area?" she asked quietly. "See, I don't even know, I wasn't even able to count the minutes. If this had happened years ago, I probably would have immediately gone in there to save him."

"If you had done that, innocent lines would have most likely been destroyed. Making that decision doesn't mean you've changed, Jaina," Siri remarked. "Maybe it just means you're growing up."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. You cannot expect to go into a war without changing a few things about yourself. Choosing not to adapt will only get you killed." She smiled, let go of the finished braid. "Maybe this mission is supposed to teach you something, other than just…missile schematics, chemical equations and—"

"—the ruthlessness of the Separatists?" Jaina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, fine, that too. Although I would have thought by now that you'd know of that firsthand."

"True."

"Maybe it should have taught you about extending your trust to other people?" She asked, looking at her. "That maybe there are people other than your Master, Master Anakin, Ahsoka and Gaspard that you can also trust with your life?"

Jaina smiled. "I've always trusted you, Master Siri. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not limited to those four."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"And…I don't know about Gaspard anymore…he…" Jaina blew out a frustrated breath and glared at the nearest wall. "Never mind. But, don't worry, I've learned how to extend my trust…but I also learned not to trust so easily. I'm pretty sure what happened back there with Jadonn isn't going to be the first time."

"You were never one to trust easily, Jaina, I don't know what you're talking about. Your Master and I were hoping this mission would change that, but apparently it backfired," Siri said. "Wait, _what_?"

"Gaspard and I had a small…disagreement aboard the ship," Jaina said wryly. "He's furious. I don't expect him to talk to me any time soon."

"What exactly was he furious about?"

Jaina hesitated. "My friendship with Jadonn, among other things. My decision to save him last and my reasons for that choice."

"And what does Gaspard think those reasons are?" Siri asked, concerned.

"He thinks I did it to please the Masters," Jaina answered after a few moments of silence. "And I'm…I'm not certain…I don't know if he's entirely wrong…"

"Jaina, I've known you since you were a youngling. You wanted to save those people, I'm sure of it."

"But…I won't deny…Master Siri, the thoughts of praise from Master Obi-Wan and the rest of the Council did cross my mind." Jaina wrinkled her nose. "I'm a horrible person."

"No, you're just a fifteen year-old under an enormous amount of pressure," Siri said gently. "But you wanted to do the right thing, I'm sure of it. Eventually you'll realize it too, and so will Gaspard. You'll both be fine."

"How can you be sure?" Jaina asked.

"Because I had a similar friendship with a very stubborn young man when I was your age," Siri said wryly. "Back then, I found him absolutely aggravating and he was infuriatingly by-the-book…yet he was the only person that could ever beat me in a velocity. Actually, he probably still is. We'd argue during every mission, Jaina; I am _not_ exaggerating. But now, even after all these years, he is still one of my dearest friends."

Jaina smiled. "You're talking about Master Obi-Wan, aren't you?"

"Yes, and unfortunately he is _still_ stubborn, aggravating and infuriatingly by-the-book," she replied, shaking her head and grinning. "My point is, Jaina, you'll fix things with Gaspard. I know you will."

"I…I'm afraid, Master Siri," she murmured reluctantly. "Can I get your advice on something? I…haven't really been able to talk to anyone about this…I always get scared...and if I bring this up with Master Obi-Wan…well, I already know what he is going to say…"

"Of course, Jaina, you don't even need to ask."

Jaina gulped. "I only started thinking about this on the ship, after we fought…It's actually quite absurd, now that I think about it. But…Gaspard's words hurt me more than I ever imagined they could. Then I started to wonder…I…Master Siri, you are close friends with Master Obi-Wan and he's…of the opposite gender…How were you able to stay such good friends with him without getting too…_attached_?"

"It's…not easy, Jaina, I am not going to attempt to make it seem like it is," Siri replied carefully. "I don't want to sound like another one of your teachers either, but there really is no other way to say it. Just _think_ – you need to think about your duty and what you have to offer the galaxy and if you continue thinking, eventually those questions will disappear."

"You mean it gets easier? Ignoring the 'what ifs', I mean. Because right now, I want to push Gaspard off the Council Spire for the things he said…and that's worries me. I've never wanted to push someone off the Spire before."

"What a thing to worry about!" Siri laughed. "You know, Jaina, Obi-Wan and I got captured when we went on our first mission together. I never told him, though he probably already knew, but I contemplated abandoning him for quite a few moments. It's not as bad as wanting to push someone off the Spire, but I think I do understand where you're coming from."

Jaina giggled. "That's pretty bad too, Master Siri."

"In all seriousness…I hate to tell you this, but even as the years go by, Jaina, ignoring the 'what ifs' never gets easier. Only more and more necessary. You're just going to have to bury everything so deep within yourself that you'll _almost_ fully believe that these thoughts have completely disappeared. With the important part you're playing in this war, Jaina, you have no choice. This is something that you _must_ do. Bury absolutely everything until you believe there is nothing left."

"Oh. Great." Jaina lowered her eyes to the ground and laughed bitterly. "Well, we _are_ teenagers. Hopefully we'll outgrow this."

Siri laughed loudly. "That's one way of putting it! Now come on. You owe me a spar."

* * *

The next morning, Jaina stifled a yawn as the last drop of caf fell from the machine and down into her mug. The refectory was noisier than it usually was, which was a great sign, it meant more Jedi were home and less were dying on the front lines.

Her datapad was tucked under her other arm, with the big, bold words _Republic Financial Reform Bill...APPROVED! Grand Army to be expanded as a result of Banking Deregulations _flashing across the screen_._

She shut the caf machine down and began walking back to her table, steaming mug in one hand, datapad in the other.

"Good morning, Padawan," a voice abruptly greeted from her left, startling her.

"Morning, Master," Jaina said warily. "You're cheerful today."

"It's a new day and we're very much alive, I think you'll find we have plenty of things to be cheerful for," Obi-Wan replied, slyly taking the datapad from her hand. "What are you reading?"

"The HoloNet, Master, and if you don't mind, I'd like it back," Jaina replied reaching for her datapad. Unfortunately, even after the two and a half years that had passed, her Master was still much taller than she was.

"The Business and Finance section. Interesting." Obi-Wan smiled innocently at her, then somehow swiftly yet subtly took the mug of caf from her other hand.

"Master!"

He raised the mug to his face and smelled it. "Hmm, black. No sugar, no usual Traladon sweet milk?"

"...Wrong. There's _half_ a spoon of sugar in there, Master," Jaina growled, giving up and sitting down on her chair grudgingly.

"Still unusual for you, Jaina, and thank you for the caf by the way, just how I like it," he said, offering her a half-smile and sipping from the mug as he sat across her.

"You're welcome," she grumbled wryly.

"You're far too young to be drinking this much anyway."

"Hmph."

"So," Obi-Wan remarked, his tone deceivingly innocent and business-like. She'd been around her Master long enough to smell one of his lectures from a mile away. "If I remember correctly, my Padawan, we never had the chance to finish our conversation back on Limbus."

"Actually, yes, we did, there's nothing more to say. Don't worry, Master, everything's completely fine."

"But according to Master Siri, you two discussed additional matters last night in the Sparring Chamber – matters that should concern me, as your Master. She also said you may still be upset about a few things."

Jaina's cheeks flushed. "I'm not upset…"

"Oh, and you're drinking black caf, Jaina," Obi-Wan continued, taking another sip, "reading the Finance section and sitting _alone_ in the refectory. Which, by the way, really makes me look bad. Imagine what the other Masters are saying…Anyway, I'd say there's plenty we need to discuss, my Padawan, wouldn't you?"

Offended, Jaina opened her mouth to retort when she realized her Master was teasing her. "Well, I'm glad one of us can see the humor in things. I don't know what you're talking about, Master, I always read the Business and Finance section, I thought you would have noticed by now."

"No, you don't. You read the 'Net everyday, Padawan, it's true, but you always skip the Finance section simply because it bores you. I noticed that early in your apprenticeship, Jaina. Don't try and trick me. You know I pay attention to detail," he smiled and took the datapad. "Come on, we're going for a walk."

"I can't, Master, I have class in ten minutes," Jaina exhaled heavily and shook her head.

"I wasn't _requesting_ you to walk with me, my young apprentice. I've already spoken to Master Tiin. He doesn't mind."

Her eyebrows rose. "That was fast."

"I'm more observant than you give me credit for. Let's go." With a quick smile, her Master stood from his seat and began walking down the cafeteria, placing the spotless, empty mug back on the counter.

* * *

Jaina followed her Master down the Coruscant sidewalk, hands folded across her chest. The sun was high above their heads, the wind was comfortably breezy, the people cheerfully oblivious to the suffering of those that had been sucked into the world of war. She couldn't find the energy to care about any of it.

"There are billions on this planet alone," her Master began casually. "Billions. Chances are one of the people here...is a mole. A traitor."

She looked up at him, feigned confusion. "But the recent bills passed in the Senate tighten security every day. I wasn't aware the Council had these sentiments about Coruscant's residents."

"They don't, Jaina, and this is not about the Council, this is about you." Obi-Wan stopped walking and turned to face her fully.

Jaina sighed but she knew that no matter how hard she tried, any clever conversation would always lead back to this. "You're really not going to let this go, are you?"

"No, my young apprentice, I am not."

"I thought so. Why does everyone want to have some sort of 'trust talk' with me? I'm _fine_, I don't need to talk about any of this!"

"The fact that you don't want to discuss this is exactly why we must," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her away from the people that had begun staring at them. "I believe we were talking about Jadonn back on Limbus?"

"Master, I _really_ don't want to discuss Jadonn."

"I am not giving you a choice. It would be irresponsible of me to allow you back in the field when you are clearly upset, my Padawan," Obi-Wan said sternly. "This problem needs to be fixed right now."

"I'm _not _upset." Jaina let out a sharp exhale, frustration dangerously reaching its boiling point. "It's just…it's one thing, learning how to identify traitors in a classroom. Taking down notes in a datapad...learning how to tell when people are lying to you...This is all just really frustrating. I know I sound like a child right now and I'm sorry, but I genuinely cannot think of a better way to articulate exactly how much _everything_ aggravates me right now."

"You still are a child, Jaina, and I am very sorry if I ever forced you to feel otherwise," Obi-Wan said, sighing.

"Well, I wouldn't go too far," Jaina turned around to face him. "I mean, I don't think I'm a child exactly, fifteen is—"

"Yes, I understand, Jaina. You're not a child, but you're not an adult either. Believe it or not, my Padawan, I understand completely," he retorted, chuckling.

"Something like that," she replied, taking a seat next to her Master on the bench at the center of the small garden. She'd managed to smile, but it vanished faster than she had anticipated. "How did I not seeing any of it coming...? How could I possibly have trusted...?"

Obi-Wan turned his gaze to the ground, not needing any further explanation. "You know, Padawan...you've seen so much, done so much, gone through so much in the past years. I know it may be difficult for you to believe, but...there are still some worse things out there in the universe. I know you think you've seen enough of the galaxy to discern for yourself who to trust and who not to trust, but the harsh truth is that you haven't."

"I don't..." Jaina trailed off, leaning back on the bench. "I don't think that..."

"Maybe not consciously. But you must remember, my young apprentice, that although I am here to guide you, true vigilance is taught only by experience."

"And Verrader?" she asked quietly. "Did you know?"

Obi-Wan looked up at her and smiled. "No."

"I don't believe you, Master."

"Ask Siri if you must, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to demonstrate the look on my face when I took the mask off," he said, chuckling.

"But if you didn't know...then how did you—"

"Because, Jaina, it's like I said. Experience teaches vigilance," Obi-Wan said seriously, "And fortunately, I've had thirty-seven years to learn."

"Of course." Jaina chuckled. "Jadonn was...he was...Master, everyone my age despises me."

Obi-Wan snorted. "I knew teenagers exaggerated, but I never imagined you'd be one of them."

"No—I'm not—It's not an exaggeration, Master!" Jaina said, glaring at him. "I see it, I feel it, I hear it. Some people even tell it to my face. They think I'm annoying, and boring and they only come to me when they need help with something!"

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is, Master. But its fine, I mean, I never really cared. But...I don't know, there are times when it gets...a little hard…After all this time, Jadonn was the first person my own age that didn't make me feel like all my responsibilities and strengths were a curse. I know I only knew him for a few days, but I felt like this huge burden was lifted off my shoulders, a burden I didn't even know I was carrying."

"I'm pretty sure Gaspard and Ahsoka would beg to disagree."

Jaina scoffed. The slightest mention of his name could immediately worsen her mood. "We've gone on countless missions with them, Master. The burden stayed. _Apparently_ people think I'm obsessed."

"And why haven't you come to me with this burden of yours, Jaina?"

"Like I said, I...I didn't know it was there. Until it was lifted." Jaina picked up a nearby stone and tossed it at the ground. "And then put back. Heavier than ever. I can't believe how quickly I trusted him, it's just so...not like me."

"I have to admit, I was a little surprised. Normally, it takes you decades to make new friends," Obi-Wan teased, smiling gently before once again turning serious. "Padawan...you'll find that enemies come in all shapes and sizes. They won't always look like Ventress, Jaina."

"Thank goodness. That's very reassuring, Master."

"I'm not joking. Padawan, this is one of the few things constant in life. The people who will want to hurt you will not always look like they do...Sometimes they will come in the form of Jadonn, they'll find your weakness and they will exploit it, without hesitation. Other times they will look as gruesome as Grievous, maybe as frightening as Ventress. And it will be immediately obvious they want to hurt you," Obi-Wan said wryly. "But you must never let your guard down, Jaina. Your enemies will have a thousand faces. I think you'll find that it's your friends who will always remain the same."

Jaina smiled, almost rolling her eyes. "Ah, two lectures in one. I'm impressed, Master."

"Teenage girls are complicated, but I like to think I'm learning."

"I'd say you are," she said, chuckling. "And to end this conversation before it even begins, Gaspard is not talking to me – it's a _long_ story, Master – and yes, Callista continues to mock me every second of my life. If you don't mind, I'd rather not have the friend lecture. Master Siri beat you to the punch."

"Of course she did. So Gaspard is not talking to you, what about Ahsoka?"

"She and Master Anakin aren't back yet. They're just as busy as we are but we do try and have a spar or two when we can."

"That's good to hear...who usually wins?"

"That is something you do not need to know, Master. Padawan-Padawan confidentiality, I'm afraid." Jaina laughed, feeling a lot less irritated.

"If you insist," Obi-Wan murmured, in a mockingly grumpy tone. "What exactly happened with Gaspard anyway? Siri told me to ask you, she wouldn't tell me anything."

"It's…complicated, Master. But it went somewhere along the lines 'it's impossible to be your friend'. Maybe on some level, he's right, I have no idea. It doesn't really matter to me anymore, I'm fine."

"Did he say his reason for making such a harsh statement?"

Jaina hesitated, unsure of how to respond. "No, Master."

"Oh," Obi-Wan remarked, though his face made it clear he did not believe her. "Well, it is Padawan Gaspard's problem now, he'll realize his mistake soon."

She managed to laugh weakly. "I doubt it. He has the hardest head in the universe."

"No, that title goes to Anakin, I'm afraid. Nevertheless, I know he'll come to his senses soon, Jaina," he said, offering her a smile. "Teenagers, Jedi or not, you'll find that they do...unreasonable things."

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "Why do I get the feeling you're speaking from experience, Master?"

"Because I am," Obi-Wan retorted, chuckling. "Believe it or not, I was fifteen once too."

"I believe you. I know some of the stories, courtesy of Master Siri."

"That is not reassuring at all." He chuckled again and exhaled heavily, but when he looked at her, his eyes were full of deep sadness. "And regarding your peers, believe me, Jaina, it is a trivial issue that will disappear with time. Your teachers and I are here, Padawan. Gaspard and Ahsoka aren't your only friends. Just try and remember that."

"And this is coming from the man who made me spar against thirty-five droids at three in the morning as punishment for one sarcastic remark? Interesting."

"You brought that upon yourself, my young apprentice."

"I did not." Jaina rolled her eyes, then smiled. "But yes, Master, I know."

"One last thing. I do have to ask, Jaina, you and Gaspard have been friends for quite some time...you two are aware that you can't..."

"_No_, Master," Jaina interrupted, wincing but chuckling. "Please don't. This is a very…_inappropriate _conversation."

"So, you're comfortable having the 'no attachments' lecture with Master Siri, but not me?" Obi-Wan glared at her. "Jaina, you and I both know that it _is_ appropriate. It is my obligation to—"

"He is—_was _like my big brother, Master," Jaina said firmly. "And he's no longer talking to me so you have nothing to worry about."

"Still, Padawan, I'm just saying, you both have made a commitment to the Jedi Order and that committment is not easily—"

Jaina burst out laughing. "Master, please stop talking. Please!"

"Fine," Obi-Wan grumbled. "But one of these days, we _will_ have to talk about—"

"_Yes_, Master. We will. Just not today."

He sighed, finally letting it go. "All right, all right. We'd better get you back to the Temple. You're excused from Master Tiin's class, but I wasn't able to excuse you from Master Allie's."

"Thank goodness." Jaina giggled. "Saved by the bell."

* * *

The months passed by quickly, with no end to the war in sight. More worlds seemed to fall to the Confederacy yet Jaina found herself meeting more and more extraordinary people, both in the military and out of it. She had not lost hope, and neither had the people.

The hunt for Grievous and Ventress took them to many places around the galaxy but they were now, thankfully, back in the Temple, ending a brief respite from the wild bantha chase. Jaina continued her secret weekly lessons with Master Siri on Jar'Kai, had finally moved up a level in the Healer's Circle but was still frustratingly behind Gaspard in the flight simulator's high score. She was certain he'd utterly destroyed her record on purpose.

The morning was cloudless, sunny, and Jaina followed her Master to the hangar bay, excited to finally see a dear friend. The landing ramp of a nearby shuttle lowered and Anakin and Ahsoka stepped out, chatting animatedly like they usually did.

Jaina found a large grin reaching her face as Ahsoka caught her eye. She hadn't seen her friend in weeks, maybe even months. But their constant late-night, secret holo-transmissions kept them both sane, even in the middle of their separate battlefields.

"You really need to stop growing, my friend," Jaina remarked wryly, shaking her head as they approached, Ahsoka already taller than her Master's shoulders. "It isn't fair in the least."

"I think _you_ need to stop shrinking," Ahsoka retorted, returning the grin and stopping in front of her to look _down_ at her. "Has it been that long already? I forgot how short you are!"

"Nice to see you're still polite and considerate, Ahsoka!" Jaina laughed, and eagerly returned the hug. "I missed you too. Hey, Master Anakin."

Anakin crossed his arms. "Jaina. Ahsoka told me about your ship."

"What happened to the _Star_?" Obi-Wan asked, confused. He glared at Jaina. "Padawan…?"

"Nothing, Master, you know how I ran into some trouble on Saleucami when we were chasing Grievous," Jaina replied quickly. "It's with the mechanics right now, it just got a little…um…scratched."

Ahsoka snickered. "More like severely dented—"

"—Just needs a new paint job—"

"—And a new _hull_—"

"—Did Ahsoka tell _you_ how she lost her lightsaber?"

Ahsoka started, eyes wide. "I…I didn't lose it."

"Right, sorry, it was stolen—"

"—I got it back after a few hours—"

"—with Master Tenube's help."

"Both of you, stop talking," Anakin groaned, putting a hand to his forehead. "You two are going to give me a headache."

"Already have one." Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Nice to see you both have been keeping us informed of your…misfortunes."

"We didn't want to add to your troubles, Masters," Jaina replied, grinning innocently.

"Yeah," Ahsoka added, a similar smile on her face. "We know you have a lot on your minds already."

"Of course you do." Anakin rolled his eyes. "Come on, both of you. In case you've forgotten, we have a meeting."

Obi-Wan nodded and led the way, walking out of the hangar bay and into the adjacent corridor, talking to Anakin quietly.

"So, what else did I miss?" Ahsoka asked, turning to Jaina as they followed, a few respectful meters away. "How've you been?"

Jaina grumbled inaudibly. "Annoyed. Grievous keeps slipping through our grasp, Ventress has remained off the grid, Gaspard still hasn't talked to me, all these useless bills are being passed around in the Senate, and my ship is still with the mechanics. I've been great!"

"Whoa, wait a minute. He _still_ hasn't talked to you?" Ahsoka asked, eyebrows raised. "It's been three months, what is he waiting for?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be this irritated half the time," Jaina replied flatly. "How about you, Ahsoka, how have you been?"

"Probably just as annoyed," Ahsoka said wryly, rolling her eyes. "I…just came from an unsanctioned mission with Senator Amidala."

"That's new," Jaina remarked, turning to her. "What in the blazes made you go on an unsanctioned mission?"

"I accompanied her to Raxus to attend a Separatist Peace Conference," Ahsoka explained, refusing to meet her eyes. They were walking up a long flight of stairs. "It didn't go well…and you could say the entire mission was a waste of time…but…"

Jaina raised an eyebrow. "But…?"

"I met this Separatist teenager, Lux Bonteri. He was insufferable at first, attempting to judge me just because I'm a Jedi—"

"—if I know you, and I do, you probably judged him first."

"_Hey_."

"I would have done the same thing."

Ahsoka laughed. "Fine, maybe I did. I mean, he was a Seppie. Point is…actually, I don't have a point…"

"Putting teenage boys, whether they are Republic or Separatist, near stressed, busy, _armed_ female Jedi just isn't a good idea," Jaina supplied, laughing. "That's the point."

"Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Jaina and Ahsoka slipped into the turbolift after their Masters, choosing to remain somber and silent during the long ride up to the Council Chambers. When they arrived, Master Siri was already in the waiting area.

"And here I thought I was the one that had trouble with punctuality," she remarked wryly. "The Council members are already inside. Never thought I'd say this, but _you're late_, Obi-Wan."

"Glad to see I still amuse you, Siri," her Master replied with equal sarcasm, as they all entered the Council Chamber. Master Obi-Wan took his seat next to Master Windu while Jaina and the others bowed.

"The problem is that Count Dooku has had years to plan the Separatist uprising. We are still catching up. We gain small victories, but they grow stronger," Master Windu said without delay. "What we need is to strike a big blow. Something that will turn the tide and get undecided worlds to join us."

"A battle?" Master Anakin asked.

"No," he replied in a low voice, his fingers interlacing. He turned to Master Obi-Wan. "Something else. Do you remember the name Talesan Fry?"

Oddly, her Master remained silent for several seconds. "Of course."

"Kept track of young Taly, we have. Responsibility, we had, to protect him better than we had his parents," Master Yoda remarked ruefully.

Obi-Wan turned to Jaina, Anakin and Ahsoka. "Taly had agreed to testify against some bounty hunters out to attack a meeting of planetary leaders. We foiled the attack, Taly testified, but one of the bounty hunters killed his parents in revenge."

"Who was behind the attack?" Jaina asked curiously.

"Suspect we did that it was Passel Argente," Master Yoda replied. "Prove it, we could not."

"Taly went underground, took an assumed name," Master Ki-Adi Mundi added. "But then he popped up, under his own name again. He's an adult now, of course. He spent his years underground developing his knowledge of surveillance. He's fulfilled his early promise and become the foremost expert in the galaxy. He's a leading innovator of surveillance tactics and equipment. He built an empire. He's also a recluse."

Obi-Wan snorted. "Who can blame him for that?"

"He barricades himself behind the security he developed. All his workers have to agree to live in the complex. He has several trusted associates who deal with the necessary details of his business, visiting clients and such. He has no contact with the outside, no friends, no family, no allegiances. His only uncle died some time ago. He's managed to stay neutral in the Clone Wars."

"Now, he has contacted us," Master Windu continued, leaning forward in his seat. "While developing new surveillance-blocking technology, he stumbled on a startling invention. A foolproof codebreaker."

"Nothing is foolproof," Anakin remarked dubiously, crossing his arms.

"We've seen the tests," Master Windu continued. "This technology could allow the Republic to break the codes of the Separatists. And continue to break them no matter how many times they are changed."

Obi-Wan turned to Master Yoda. "Is Taly giving the codebreaker to us?"

"I wish it were that simple." Master Ki-Adi Mundi grimaced. "Taly feels he owes the Jedi, because we saved his life. He's willing to offer us the technology first – if we come up with the right price. Taly has made it clear he's perfectly willing to turn around and offer it to the Separatists. What the Jedi must do is go to his compound and obtain the codebreaker, then bring it to the Azure Spaceport. We've assembled a team of tech experts to study and deploy it. We know a Separatist attack is imminent. We need to discover where it will be."

"Who will go to Taly's compound?" Obi-Wan asked.

"You," Master Windu replied. "Anakin, your Padawans, Master Siri and—"

Suddenly the door slid open and Jaina's heart sank.

"Sorry, I'm late, Masters," Gaspard remarked breathlessly, sweat rolling down his forehead as he strode to the center of the room, behind Master Siri. "Brief accident at the simulator."

"Nice to say this war has improved your punctuality, Padawan Loahin," Master Windu said coldly. "As I was saying, Taly asked for you two specifically, Obi-Wan and Siri. In consultation with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the Senate will send a representative as well, Senator Amidala from Naboo. She's proven to be an able negotiator for the Republic cause."

"Wait, _what_?" Anakin asked, stunned. "I have to object."

Master Windu's eyebrows rose.

"The mission could be dangerous," Master Anakin continued. "We already know that there have been attempts on Senator Amidala's life. We would be putting her in harm's way."

"It does not seem to me that the Senator turns away from danger if she sees a need to act."

"And we could also be drawing the opposition. No doubt they are watching her every move."

"I have no doubt that we will be able to maintain secrecy," Master Windu said, his tone making it clear that he was ending the argument. "Thank you though, Anakin, for the reminder."

"I just think there must be a better choice," Anakin said, and this time, even her Master was giving him a warning look. "Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan for example. He's worked with Obi-Wan and Jaina before and he's proven to be a—"

"This is the Chancellor's decision, not the Jedi's. We cannot forbid her to go _especially_ when we welcome her help."

"We cannot waste any more time," Master Ki-Adi Mundi rebuked. "Your ship leaves at oh three hundred."

Master Yoda nodded, his keen gaze sweeping over them all. "May the Force be with you."

* * *

**A/N: **And this would be why I named my planet Limbus (Latin for Border/Edge). Things are going to start going downhill from here! :D

Just a timeline note, the Banking Deregulation HoloNet headline came up in the Season 3 episodes Heroes on Both Sides, and the Pursuit of Peace. (Also, those are the episodes where Lux meets Ahsoka). So we're leaving Season 2 behind, and we're somewhere in the Season 3 era now.

Just clearing things up a bit for chronology's sake, but I don't think I'll be writing anything from the Clone Wars TV show anymore because it's going to be boring, considering you can all watch it on TV :) I will, however, make references to certain important events from the show, and that's why I wanted to make the timeline still somewhat clear.

This new subplot is from the novel Secrets of the Jedi by the amazingly talented Jude Watson.

* * *

**Shout-Outs:**

**Patattack:** Thank you so much! Hope you enjoyed!

**Littlelionluvr:** Yay, readers! Thank you so much, hope to see you around! Gaspard's going to be a major part of this story now…hehehe!

**ClassicalBrunette:** Thank you! :D Hahaha! That line was so much fun to write LOL! Hope the dramatic chat(s) met your expectations! :) You are very much welcome, I wish I could spoil everyone with two updates every month. More more mooooore intensity coming! :D

Yes, omg omg omg, I just about died when I saw that JAT tweeted me back HAHAHAHA! =)) See you around!

**Angie:** Gaspard is a very, very, very complicated guy…but fortunately, one that will be around! ;)

**RogueJedi96:** Sorry for the cliffhanger, it's become a habit/style of mine already! :( Hahaha! That's completely all right! :) Just glad to see you're still there!

Thank you so much! I hate writing fight scenes though, I won't sugarcoat it, they are the most difficult, tedious and annoying part of writing a Star Wars story. I take foooorever in writing them =)) I basically learned from watching all six films and observing their movements in a battle. For fight scenes that involve Jaina, I watch Episodes II and III specifically and observe Obi-Wan, since she's learning his style and all. For the other Jedi, I just watch the Jedi fight in the films, and if I watch a movie with a good sword fight in it, I try and apply that too. Sometimes it involves watching several fight scenes over and over again to be able to get their movements and write them down. In my opinion, writing fight scenes reaaally depends on observation. Hope that helped!

* * *

**On a side note, MY GOODNESS, you all must watch the Phantom Menace 3D release, it is MINDBLOWING. It's amazing. Star Wars on a completely new level. I was in tears after the first twenty seconds HAHAHA. I will be updating soon! :)**


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